Silver and Steel
by Nephthys Moon
Summary: The vagaries of Fate and Time are impossible to predict; a single wish can change the course of both, and often does.
1. Waking Dream

_**Silver and Steel: Chapter 1 - Waking Dream**_

"She's waking up!"

That voice sounded like her mother's, Tsukino Usagi thought sleepily. Why was her mother so worried? It was still dark outside; she couldn't possibly be late for school yet.

"Usagi-chan, can you hear me?"

That was her father, she acknowledged, opening one bleary eye. She forced herself to focus, wondering why she was in a white room – her walls were pink. She slowly peeled her other eye open, taking in the peculiar sight of her mother, father and brother standing over her and a white-coated doctor standing at the foot of her bed. _A doctor?_

Usagi struggled to concentrate, her eyes darting cautiously around the room that she could clearly see was not her bedroom at home; in fact, if she were forced to hazard a guess, she would have to say that she was in a hospital, but why on earth would she be in the hospital?

"Usagi-chan?" her mother said, leaning over her. She nodded. "Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital," she ground out, her throat sore and her voice sounding rusty – as though she hadn't used it in a long time.

"That's right, baby," her mother said encouragingly. Her father nodded. "Do you know why you're here?" Usagi merely shook her head, uncertain if she wanted to try speaking again just yet.

"You were found in the middle of the road," the doctor cut in. "You and several others were completely unconscious, like you'd been drained of your energy. The person that found you outside of his arcade called an ambulance and said that you'd all been attacked by one of those youma."

_Youma._ The word brought an image to her head, a flash of a demon's shadow that vanished when she tried to focus on it, completely tuning out the doctor. What was he talking about anyway? She had been attacked?

"Motoki-san has been by to visit you every day," Tsukino Ikuko said, her voice fond. Usagi looked at her mother curiously. Motoki was the one that found her? He'd know what was going on. "He stops to visit Mako-chan, too."

_Mako-chan._ A brief picture of a girl with softly curling brown hair in a high ponytail and large green eyes came to her before it, too, vanished. She shook her head. The name wasn't familiar, though she felt it should be. The face – it went with that name, but who _was_ it?

"You've been out for two weeks, Usagi-chan," her father told her gently, and she felt her eyes widen. She'd been in a coma for two weeks? She looked to the doctor for confirmation, but found that he was gone. "There were ten of you found in the street. The doctor went to check on Minako-chan – apparently she is waking up now, too."

Again, a flicker of recognition went through Usagi at the name, a mane of long, golden blonde hair and a bright, cheerful smile before the vision disappeared. Again, she felt she should know the name, but couldn't understand why she didn't.

"Mama," she croaked. "Water?" Her mother nodded and rushed to bring her a small Styrofoam cup of ice water, which she gratefully took and gulped down, grateful for the cool wetness against her parched throat.

"Does anyone know for sure what happened?" Usagi asked, wondering why her parents were looking at each other so oddly.

"No, Usagi-chan," her father said softly. "The doctors were hoping that one of you might be able to tell them when you woke up, though they warned us that you might not have any memory of the incident." She shook her head.

"I don't remember anything," she whispered forlornly. "I feel like I should know the people you're talking about and I can almost see their faces, but I don't know who they are." She felt like crying. It was completely terrifying to realize that she had no recollection of events that had landed her in the hospital.

"What's the last thing you do remember, Usagi-chan?" Her mother's voice was curious, but there was a hint of worry underneath it. Usagi didn't blame her; it must be just as scary for her.

"I remember that I got a low grade on a test and you wouldn't let me in the house, Mama," she mumbled, concentrating. "And after everything I'd already been through that day, too," she added reproachfully.

"What else happened that day?" This from her father.

"I got into a fight with that baka about my grades and before that Haruna-sensei made me stand in the hallway because I was late for class," she mumbled, mentally growling at both that arrogant jerk and her teacher.

"That was three months ago, Usagi-chan," her mother whispered softly, so softly she wasn't sure she'd heard it. Usagi leaned back on her pillow, focusing on the ceiling; she'd lost three months of her life – no memories, nothing. "At least it explains why you don't remember the girls; you haven't known them that long."

Usagi nodded a bit; that made sense, she supposed. Her parents leaned down and dropped a kiss on each cheek and her brother waved awkwardly and they left to let her 'rest'. She figured she'd probably rested enough in the past two weeks for at least two more people, but she didn't argue. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts for a bit; she felt like there was something more she was missing – something important.

The next morning she was wheeled out to a small garden on the hospital grounds; the fresh air was supposed to help her regain her strength. It had been extremely disturbing when she'd fallen trying to get from her bed to the wheelchair they provided. The garden was filled with the scent of roses, and for some inexplicable reason, she wanted to cry at the smell. The sound of a girl's cough brought her attention to the other occupant, a dark-haired girl with brilliant violet eyes. Usagi thought she was perhaps the most beautiful girl she'd ever seen. Again there was a brief flash of recognition, a name just beyond her reach, and she offered the other girl a tentative smile.

"I'm Tsukino Usagi," she said weakly. The other nodded.

"Hino Rei," she said softly. "You're one of the survivors, aren't you?" It was Usagi's turn to nod. Survivor seemed an apt word. "Did you wake up yesterday, too?"

"Yes," Usagi confirmed. "Do you remember what happened to us?" Rei shook her head. "My parents told me we were all friends, but I don't remember."

"Me neither," Rei whispered. "You seem familiar, but I don't know you – not really."

"Yes, exactly," another voice chimed in, and the two spun to see another girl, this one with short blue hair and bright azure eyes. "I feel like I should know you both, but I can't remember."

"You're Mizuno Ami," Usagi whispered in awe. She recognized the girl as the genius of her school; it was rumored that Mizuno-san had an IQ of over 300.

"You're Tsukino Usagi, and I heard you say you were Hino Rei," Ami said with a nod. "It's so strange; I woke up yesterday with no memory of what happened, but I feel like if I sit here with you two long enough it might come back." Usagi nodded and saw Rei doing the same.

"Do you feel like there's something more they aren't telling us?" another voice asked, and Usagi and the others turned.

"Mako-chan," Usagi breathed softly. This was the face that had flashed through her mind when she'd heard the name.

"Mako-chan, huh?" The girl smiled. "I like that. So do you remember?"

"No, but my parents said your name earlier and I recognized your face," Usagi explained. "What did you say? They aren't telling us something?"

"I get that feeling, too," Rei chimed in. "My grandfather won't meet my eyes whenever he talks about it – like there's something horrible about it."

"It could just be relief," Ami muttered thoughtfully, "but I have to admit that my mother seems to be hiding something from me, too." Usagi thought for a moment, remembering the looks her mother had given her when she was asking what the last thing she'd remembered before the accident.

"Mine, too," came yet another voice, and Usagi realized that this must be Minako-chan. "Aino Minako," the girl introduced. I know your faces and your names, but I don't have a clue how I know that. Odd, isn't it?" The others nodded slowly, as though she'd said what they were all thinking.

"So you think your parents are hiding something, too, Minako-chan?" Usagi asked and the other blonde nodded quickly.

"I wonder what it is," Mako-chan mused. "Maybe we were all found nude or something bizarre like that." Ami flushed a pretty pink and Rei looked ready to shoot arrows at her. Minako merely giggled, but Usagi shook her head.

"No, I think it was more serious than that, Mako-chan," she said slowly. "My parents were really eager to know what the last thing I remembered was – and seemed relieved that it was something that happened three months ago."

"You must be talking about using my head as your rubbish bin, Odango Atama" drawled a male voice from behind her, and Usagi didn't even need to turn to see who it was; only one voice made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up that way – that she knew of, anyway. And surely only one person would call her by that name.

"Odango!" Rei let loose a bark of laughter. "You're right – they do look just like Odango!" The others burst into laughter. "Are you one of the survivors as well?"

"I am," he confirmed. "Chiba Mamoru." The girls introduced themselves, but Usagi stayed firmly silent. What were the odds that the same jerk, one she'd never seen before or since – that she knew of – would be one of the people that had been involved in her 'accident'? She wasn't very good at math, but she figured the odds must be pretty slim.

"Well, what do you remember, Mamoru-baka?" she asked.

"Actually, Odango-chan, the last thing I remember is you hitting me in the head with that paper," he said. "You really should study more."

"It's so strange…" Ami mused softly, as though to herself. "We were all involved in this accident, and we all knew each other – and none of us remember any of it." Heads around the garden slowly nodded. "My mother said it could all come back to us, maybe tomorrow, maybe in a week or even years down the road, but I wonder. From what I can gather, a lot of strange things have been happening over the past few months, and it seems like we got in the middle of some kind of monster attack – we may never remember."

Usagi pondered for a few moments in silence, wondering what it would be like to just never remember three months of her life – to have it completely erased. The thought made her head hurt; she felt like whatever it was that she had forgotten was very important – life-altering, even. What would she do if she never remembered? Already she'd realized that there was something very different about her hair; it was longer than she could ever remember having worn it, and it seemed to have switched from a bright, golden blonde to a shimmering silver-blonde. She could feel Mamoru staring at the back of her head and she wondered if he was realizing the same thing.

She brushed it off in the silence; what did it matter if that jerk was looking at her hair? Everything she could remember about him indicated that they hadn't gotten along – granted it was just one meeting, but she didn't see how things could have changed that much between them in three months. He obviously wasn't important to her – not like these girls. She knew, suddenly, that these girls were her friends – not because she'd been told that, but because she felt it. There was a bond between them; if she concentrated, she was almost certain she could see tiny red strings of fate binding them together.

As they were wheeled back into their rooms, she pondered it a bit more. In fact, Usagi probably thought harder about her friendship with the other girls more than she'd thought about anything else in her life, and she came to one decision: as long as they were willing, she would be friends with them. Even if they had to learn everything about each other again, she knew that it was vital to her to have them close. The next few days of being monitored in the hospital merely confirmed that decision. Every afternoon they were wheeled into the garden, and every afternoon they spent getting to know one another again. Naru came by every day, but Usagi was dismayed to realize that there was a coolness in her voice that had never been there before. It was almost as though she and Naru were no longer as close as they had been, and she found herself regretting those months that she'd lost, that she might never regain. What had happened to strain her friendship with Naru so?

Finally, she was released from the hospital and allowed to go home. She walked slowly up the stairs, appalled that she still had such little strength in her legs, but determined to do it alone, and collapsed, legs shaking, into her bed. The bag of her personal items from the hospital was already on her nightstand, and she opened curiously, wondering what she'd had with her that the doctors had deemed worth saving. She dumped the contents out on her bed and stared in shock when only two items fell out. One was a pink pen with a large fake jewel at the end; she assumed it was fake because she couldn't imagine that she'd ever had the spending money to buy a pen with a real gem on it. It was metal, and heavy, she noted, weighing it in her hand. She must have really liked it before.

The second item was stranger still. A round pink brooch with a gold star crossing winked innocuously from the bed, but she stared at it horror. For some reason, the very sight of the locket filled her with dread; it was obviously expensive, and most likely a gift from her parents, but it was terrifying to look at. She picked it up gingerly, noting that it seemed warm to the touch as though it had its own heat source, and dropped it ruthlessly in a drawer in her nightstand. Perhaps she'd wear it from time to time in the future to keep her parents from regretting buying her such an expensive gift, but she didn't think she'd ever like it.

As the weeks wore on, she and Naru repaired whatever was wrong with their friendship, and the two could often be found in the presence of the other girls, most often at the arcade after school, studying. Her grades improved drastically, and her average went from a D to a B, something that made her parents look at her curiously. Sometimes, when Naru wasn't around, she and the others would talk about what had happened at the hospital and try to puzzle out what had taken away their memories of the event and the months leading up to it, but eventually they grew too frustrated with the lack of information about it to continue. Still, she would lie awake in the evenings before she fell asleep and try to remember, and her last thought before she finally drifted off was that she would give anything to know the truth.

* * *

"Why don't they remember, Artemis?" The voice belonged to a small black cat with a peculiar crescent moon on her forehead. "Even Mamoru-san doesn't recall anything. It's like it never happened."

"I don't know, Luna." This from the white cat with the same marking sitting next to her on the roof of the Tsukino household. "I'm more concerned about the _others_."

"Why were they brought back, you mean?" she asked and he nodded at her.

"It doesn't make any sense," he explained. "The girls and Mamoru all meant something to Usagi-chan, in this life and her past one, but they did not – they were traitors and enemies."

"We should watch them closely," Luna said decisively. "If need be, we can try reawakening the Senshi, but…" she trailed off.

"I don't want to have to do that, either," Artemis agreed. "It's better that they don't remember, honestly. What kind of lives could they have if they were haunted by that past?"

"But what about Usagi and Mamoru?" Luna persisted. "What if they are never reunited?" Artemis thought about it for a long moment before speaking.

"Maybe they aren't meant to be." His voice was sad, as though he didn't really believe it.

"But the Queen…" she reminded him.

"Yes, the Queen wanted them to be reborn on the same planet, but what about Usagi-chan?" he asked. "She wished to be normal – that when they woke up they wouldn't remember. She wished that and had to know that it meant that she and Mamoru wouldn't remember, either. If they are meant to be together then they will, with or without those memories. Perhaps Usagi-chan wanted to give them that freedom."

"The freedom to fall in love without Endymion and Serenity being a part of it?" Luna asked curiously. "Would Usagi-chan really want that? I think you're giving her too much credit for foresight she simply doesn't possess."

"I'm not so sure," he said, standing firm. "She might still be Usagi-chan, but Serenity is a part of that, and Princess Serenity would never have wanted Usagi to be with someone simply because he was once Endymion. Perhaps the Princess decided that it would be best if they fell in love on their own – you have to admit that it seemed a little peculiar that they went from enemies to being madly in love with each other once they realized they used to be. I have to wonder how much of that was Endymion and Serenity pushing to the surface and suppressing their mutual dislike."

Luna looked as though she'd swallowed something distinctly unpleasant, but she didn't disagree with him. "Perhaps you are right," she said after a long moment. "Perhaps a watch and wait approach is best for now." He nodded.

"I'll try to track _them_ down," he said quietly. "Keep an eye on the girls and Mamoru." Luna nodded and he jumped from the roof, landing on a tree branch before continuing to the ground.

"Good-night, Usagi-chan," she whispered into the silence he left in his wake. "Sweet dreams."

Below her a fourteen-year-old with silver-blonde hair smiled softly in her sleep and rolled over, muttering a quiet goodnight in return.


	2. Practical Joke

**Four Years Later**

She was late.

This was nothing new; over the four years since the accident, she had managed to bring up her grades, get a scholarship to Tokyo University and she had finally learned to walk without tripping over everything in her path- but one thing she had yet to overcome was her habitual tardiness. In the eighteen years that she'd been alive, she had probably been on time for a dozen things; her mother often teased her, saying that she'd been born two weeks late and it had ruined her for life. Usagi wasn't sure she believed that, ; though she was honest enough to admit that it sounded like her, at least.

In this case, however, being late wasn't an option. It was her first day of classes at TU and she'd never in her life wanted to make such a good impression, and never had she felt like she was less likely to. Her tardiness was one of the few things she hadn't accepted since the accident. The fact that her parents were hiding something from her, something that was huge, had become apparent within the first few months after the accident – she'd learned to accept that. Whatever it was, it had to be important that they not tell her, or they certainly would have done so by now. She'd learned to accept that she would most likely never remember those three months leading up to the accident, nor ever know exactly what the accident itself was, but she would never accept that she would be late for everything. That she would eat everything in sight, yes. That she would sleep as much as possible, yes. But that she would never be on time? Definitely not. It was undignified in a young woman of eighteen, she decided as she ran across the campus; a piece of toast in her mouth and her school bag banging painfully against her leg.

She rounded a corner, knowing that the door she needed was nearly within sight when she went flying, landing painfully on her rear end and sucking her toast down on a gasp. She coughed, trying to dislodge the offending piece of food as she attempted to get to her feet. She gave up when she realized that the toast was not coming out and she was having trouble breathing. Strong hands pounded on her back, forcing the saliva-coated bread from her windpipe to the floor and she knelt on all fours, taking in gulping breaths to try to force her lungs to function again.

"Thank you," she gasped gratefully. "I'm sorry I ran into you," she added, realizing that she must have hit the person very hard to have fallen that way.

"Apologize later, Odango. For now just focus on breathing – you have enough trouble doing that anyway." The voice was annoyingly familiar, and she realized belatedly that the fine hairs on the back of her neck had come to attention the moment she'd made contact with the wall of male chest that had knocked her to the ground.

"Baka," she grunted weakly, still trying to catch her breath. "As soon as I can breathe again…" she let the threat die as a cough bubbled out of her throat, forcing her into silence as she dropped her head to the smooth floor of the hallway. She flinched when she felt a hand rubbing her back briskly.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Odango," he muttered irritably. "Believe it or not, I'm trying to help you." Rationally, Usagi knew that. It wasn't the first time she'd flinched away from his touch, however. She could recall at least a couple dozen encounters over the past few years – little things like his hand over hers as he helped her with a particularly difficult math problem one afternoon at the arcade when she'd been alone and frustrated – his touch scared her. She knew he wouldn't hurt her; for all his annoyingly superior smugness, even she recognized that he was a good person at heart, but she couldn't help the instinctive reaction. It was as though her body feared him and didn't want him near her. As far as she was concerned, it was enough reason to keep up the barriers that they'd erected from their very first meeting; no matter how good a person he really was, she couldn't shake it and had long ago decided not to bother trying.

"I'm fine," she ground out, pushing herself from the floor to her feet. She watched as Mamoru walked towards her fallen bag and handed it to her with a concerned expression on his face. "I promise," she added with an exaggerated smile.

"Late for class?" he asked teasingly, and she nodded, not bothering to deny it. She had taken away so many of his reasons for teasing her over the years since the accident that she didn't begrudge him the one. Besides, she knew from Makoto that he and the other survivors lived in their apartment building – in the apartment above theirs, actually. Motoki lived with them, just as Naru lived with the girls. Being blatantly rude was against the unspoken rules of their battles and it just wasn't neighborly.

"Better get going then, Odango-chan," he reminded her, and she nodded again before offering him a half-hearted wave and dashing towards the door. He shook his head at her slowly as she ran away and chuckled to himself. If nothing else, the girl was good for a laugh.

* * *

"Soon, Princess." The voice was female, deep and sensual. "Very soon I will be free, and then I will join you as I was meant to. Soon."

* * *

"Usagi-chan? Are you home?" Usagi looked at the open doorway of the bedroom she shared with Makoto.

"In here, Naru-chan," she called, letting the other girl know where to find her. A few moments later a red head popped into view.

"Are you doing homework?" Naru asked with her eyes wide. "On your first Friday night as a college student?" Usagi laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, Professor Sugimoto said that anyone would didn't turn in their lab report first thing Monday morning would be forever known as 'Tsukino, the Pea Brain'." Professor Sugimoto was her least favorite of her teachers. The man was an absolute terror and had insulted half the class already by deeming them Pea Brains every time they answered a question incorrectly; a correct answer garnered a 'Pumpkin Brain'. She rolled her eyes just thinking about it. Naru stared at her in wonderment for a long moment and then shook her head.

"No, I refuse to let you do this," she said decisively. "You're going _out_ tonight, Usagi-chan. I don't care if you just go down to the coffee shop on the corner, but you are not spending the entire weekend in your bedroom working on that lab report."

"What are you doing tonight?" Usagi asked and Naru gave her a wicked grin.

"Motoki is having a party downstairs and we'll finally get to meet these mysterious roommates," she whispered conspiratorially. "Mamoru, of course, is going to the library so he can study for his med school entrance exams – that don't come until the end of the year." Usagi nodded. It sounded like something he'd do; he really didn't know how to have fun at all.

"You should come, Usagi-chan!" Naru cajoled. "It'll be fun!"

"Nope, not gonna happen, Naru-chan," Usagi said with a laugh and a shake of her head. "I'm going to finish this lab report if it takes me until the sun comes up. But you're right – I should probably go get some coffee. At the very least, the caffeine will keep me awake and the change of scenery might help me focus a bit better." Naru sighed in resignation and waved at her, walking towards the bedroom she shared with Ami.

Usagi stood and cracked the bones in her neck; she was really tense, she decided. Coffee was just the thing. She pulled on a pair of comfortable jeans and a plain pink t-shirt, tugging a black sweater over it to guard against the chill of the brisk autumn wind. She'd taken her odangos out earlier in the afternoon and pulled her hair into a braid at the base of her skull – it wasn't her usual look, but it would have to do. Now that she'd decided to have coffee, she was eager to get out of the apartment. She slid her books into her bag and walked to the front door, where she slipped into a pair of black flats she thought might be Minako's. At least, she hoped they were Minako's; if they were Rei's, she was in for an earful later. She shrugged and checked to make sure she had her key before she walked out the front door.

Ten minutes later she was settled comfortably in a tiny red booth in the back corner of the coffee house, a booth that reminded her comfortably of the arcade. She picked up her cup and took a sip of the fragrant beverage, noting that it thankfully tasted better than the sludge Motoki used to serve. She pulled out her Chemistry book and her lab notes, wincing as she realized how little of the report she'd actually managed to complete in the two hours between her own arrival at home and Naru's. Usagi chewed thoughtfully on the eraser of the pink bunny pencil as she reviewed her notes, wondering what exactly it would take for the information on the page to make sense to her.

If she'd looked up, or even paid attention to her peripheral vision, she would have noticed the dark figure standing outside the glass, looking at her in surprise long before Mamoru plopped down across from her at the small table and pulled out his own books. Of course, she was so engrossed in her notes that she didn't even realize he was there until five minutes later when she reached for her cup without looking and had her hand swatted away.

"Get your own," he muttered, and she looked up at him in shock, noting that her hand was indeed hovering over his cup instead of her own, which was now empty.

"What are you doing?" she hissed in irritation, glaring at him through the glasses perched on his nose.

"Studying, Odango," he retorted. "Given your grades the past few years, which you've taken every opportunity to rub in my face, I had figured you'd at least learned about the concept." She rolled her eyes; it really was a weak comeback from him.

"I realized that, Baka," she muttered. "I meant what are you doing at my table?" He deigned to look at her, tearing his eyes away from his textbook for a moment to give her a clear view of them rolling sarcastically.

"Having a coffee and studying, Odango," he said, turning his attention back to his book. "I thought it was fairly obvious." She felt her jaw clenching and resisted the urge to reach across the table and shake him.

"I can see that," she said through gritted teeth. "The question is _why_ here, and _why_ my table?" He shrugged without looking up and she dropped her head to the table in frustration. The conversation was going nowhere, she decided, tugging her sweater over her head and dropping it next to her on the seat. Two could play this game, as she'd learned years ago. She returned her attention to her notes in front of her, missing the self-satisfied smirk on his lips as they fell into silent study.

* * *

"It's been four years, Luna," Artemis said from the former lair of the Senshi under the arcade. "If they were going to act, they would have done so by now." Luna was forced to agree.

"What do we do now, then?" she asked wearily. She was tired of her existence; what good was being the advisor to Princess Serenity if Serenity didn't even know who she herself was, let alone who her advisor was? Besides, she'd grown to love Usagi for Usagi during the time that the girl had been Sailor Moon and she missed her.

"Prepare."

The voice was female, husky – sensual, even. Luna and Artemis spun in unison and found the intruder, dropping to deep bows immediately before the woman in the black and garnet fuku.

"Prepare?" Artemis asked and the woman nodded.

"The timestream has been altered. They should have remembered by now," she said, her voice soft. "Something was changed and the future is in jeopardy. She meant well, but when she influenced Usagi's wish after she defeated Metalia, she destroyed the future of the galaxy and it must be set to rights I will do what I must to correct this, but it will be up to you two to be prepared. The Senshi will be called into service again, and soon. The Dark Queen comes."

The woman disappeared in a flash of light and the two cats were left staring at the space she'd occupied. "You follow Usagi-chan," Artemis whispered, as though still in awe of what he had seen. "I'll follow Minako-chan." Luna nodded her agreement and they made their way to the door.

* * *

An hour passed in silence as the two studied and Usagi was pleased to realize that he was actually a restful companion. It wasn't the first time they'd managed to not argue – in fact, they often tried to avoid it around the others. Granted, that was only because Rei had gotten them both to sign an agreement that stated if they argued in public whichever person was determined to have started it would be on duty at the Hikawa Jinja the following weekend. Usagi remembered the horrible weekends vividly from her days in high school and she had no desire to repeat them. She also remembered how exactly Rei had gotten her to sign the thing in the first place.

She smiled at the memory of a much younger Usagi that had mistaken an alcoholic beverage for harmless punch at a New Year's celebration. Rei had taken advantage of the situation and had coerced her into confessing that she did, despite prior claims, find Mamoru attractive (she wasn't blind, after all). If she'd known she was being recorded, she would have never admitted such a thing, and it was to keep Rei's silence in the matter that she'd signed the stupid agreement in the first place. She often wondered what Rei had done to make Mamoru sign it. She'd often thought about asking, but she was afraid he'd return the question and she had yet to think of a plausible lie.

"I'm getting a refill," he said, breaking into her thoughts. "You want one?" She nodded mutely and turned her attention back to her notes.

"I'll get the next round," she muttered, adding a few lines to her report. She barely noticed Mamoru's return with their coffees.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Mamoru looked up and stretched happily. "What're you working on, Odango?"

"Chem I lab report," she muttered irritably without looking up. She felt, rather than saw, his raised eyebrows. "Yes, Baka, I'm taking Chem I," she teased.

"I didn't say anything, Odango," he said defensively and she laughed.

"No, but you were thinking it," she claimed. He chuckled.

"Alright, you caught me," he admitted. "You know I haven't been able to tease you about your grades for years."

That did make her look up with a smile. "While that's true, and the last time I remember you doing it was the day we met," she said, "I still get the feeling that you did it a lot in those three months." He laughed loudly, causing several heads to turn in their direction.

"I have the same feeling," he said with a wink. Her giggles joined his deep chuckles and several patrons looked at them reprovingly. "Speaking of feelings," he muttered, looking around, "I have the feeling that we might have worn out our welcome tonight." Usagi nodded.

"Let's get out of here," she agreed. "You've got a party to attend, right?" Mamoru shrugged. "Well, if you don't want to go to the party, we can continue studying at our place – all the girls are at the party."

"Thanks, Odango," he muttered "Motoki and the boys are a bit too rambunctious for my tastes when it comes to parties."

They stood and gathered their belongings. Usagi pulled her sweater back on, pulling the long braid out to lie flat against her back and slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Ready?" she asked, noting that Mamoru was staring at her with an indescribable expression on his face.

"Yeah," he said, shaking his head as though to clear it. "I guess I never realized how long your hair was"

"The 'odango' as you call them, take up a decent amount of the length," she admitted. They walked out the door and down the crowded street for the two blocks to their building in silence. She let them in with her key and flicked on the lights, illuminating the eclectic decorating of six girls.

"Coffee?" she asked, kicking off the borrowed shoes and tossing her bag on the sofa as she passed it on her way to the kitchen.

"Nah, I think I've had enough for one day," he muttered. "Juice if you have it." She nodded and pulled two glasses from the cabinet, filling them both with orange juice from the fridge and carrying them back into the living room. She tried to get angry at the sight of Mamoru lounging on her sofa with his feet on her coffee table, remote in hand, but it was simply too funny to see the big man perfectly at home on a pink couch.

Usagi put the glass next to his feet and swatted at them. "Off the table, Baka," she teased, stepping over his legs (which he clearly was not planning on moving) to sit in the opposite corner of the couch. They settled in quietly, Mamoru flipping through the channels until he found an old movie on and stopped.

"Godzilla?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"It's a classic," he answered. She laughed and shrugged. As odd as the occurrence was, he was her guest and she supposed she would just have to suffer through the torturous movie. She laughed a bit at the idea – Mamoru was her houseguest. Motoki and the girls would never believe it.

"What?" he asked, turning to look at her as she doubled over in laughter.

"Just imagining Motoki-kun's face if he were to walk in right now, that's all." The words were gasped out around her giggles and his rich laughter joined hers. "Popcorn?" she offered.

"That sounds great," he said with a nod, turning his attention back to the screen. She stood and returned to the kitchen, tossing a bag of popcorn into the microwave.

"Baka, listen for the popcorn – I'm going to change into my pjs." She didn't wait to see if he would oblige her, instead turning directly for her room and closing the door behind her. She pulled off her sweater and shirt and shucked her jeans down her legs, tossing the clothes into her hamper before she reached for her nightclothes. She pulled on the pink tank and matching capris, enjoying the softness of the cotton against her skin. She reached around for the end of her braid and pulled out the tie holding it, combing her fingers through her long locks until she'd untangled the braid.

Not for the first time, she wondered if she should cut her hair; it really was impractical to have it so long, and it was very heavy. Most days saw her with a headache from the sheer weight of it by the time she went to bed. She shrugged absently and grabbed a comb from her dresser, splitting her hair into two sections and securing each behind her ear with hairbands in a lower, slightly modified version of her traditional pigtails. The ends were tangled again and she sighed. She'd have to ask Makoto to help her with that again before she went to bed.

She rejoined Mamoru in the living room, smiling slightly at the intent look on his face as he watched the black and white movie. He really was good-looking, she admitted silently. It was a pity that he was such a jerk. _Not tonight,_ a sly voice murmured in her head and she gave a mental shrug. When she reclaimed her position on the sofa he put a bowl of popcorn on the cushion between them without looking away from the screen.

Grateful that she'd thought to grab her laptop before she left her bedroom, she shrugged and pulled her notes out of her bag and opened her laptop. It was pink, of course, as were so many things in her life, and it was one of the first things she'd bought with her pay from the one summer she'd worked for Motoki at the arcade. When the machine booted up, she opened her word processing program and began to type up the handwritten lab report, leaning over the coffee table with her hair forming small pools at her feet.

"Your hair is tangled, Odango," Mamoru said with a teasing note in his voice and she rolled her eyes. He couldn't just let her study in peace!

"I know that, but it's nearly impossible for me to brush it properly myself – Mako-chan usually helps me," she added petulantly. "I keep thinking I should cut it, but the girls get this funny look on their face whenever I mention it – kind of like the one you've got right now," she added, looking up to see him horror-struck at the words.

"Go get your brush," he ordered. "I'll help you." She knew her eyebrows had vanished into her bangs, but she couldn't help it. Mamoru was actually offering to help her when there were no witnesses? She stared at him until he met her gaze and said, "Well?"

"Nothing," she muttered, standing up to go back to her room and get her brush. She'd picked it up off her dresser when she noticed a dark figure standing behind her and spun, prepared to scream. "BAKA!" she shouted. "You scared me!"

"I figured I'd just follow you in here to see if there was a particular way to do this," he said quietly and she nodded, handing him the hairbrush before she reached up and removed the hairbands.

"Normally I sit on the bed with my back to Mako-chan and she kneels on the floor behind me," she whispered, suddenly realizing how terribly intimate it would be to have him in her room, brushing her hair. "I can sit on the couch the same way, though," she added hastily, noting his relieved expression. They walked back to the living room in silence and she sat on the sofa with her back facing him, her hair spilling down to the floor.

Usagi felt him kneeling behind her moments before he picked up the ends of her hair and began to methodically pull the brush through the ends. "This must get annoying," he muttered, tugging her hair teasingly.

"I'm sure Mako-chan feels that way from time to time," she said with a shrug. "I find it soothing, though."

"Even when I'm the one doing it?" he asked curiously. She nodded. Before either of them could speak, a sudden commotion at the front door caused Usagi to whip her head around swiftly – and fifteen pounds of silver-blonde hair to knock Mamoru into the sofa, spilling popcorn over himself and the floor. In her mad scramble to check on Mamoru, she lost her balance and knocked him to the floor, her body sprawled across his, popcorn everywhere.

"Usagi-chan," Minako called from the door of the living room, "are we interrupting you and your new frie – Mamoru-san?" Usagi groaned and dropped her head to the floor beside his head.

"We're never going to hear the end of this," she muttered in his ear. She could feel the eyes of her roommates on them and she wondered if there was any way she could explain this without hearing about it for the rest of her life.

"We might if you hurry up and get off me," he whispered, trying to sit up. She pulled herself off him, using the coffee table as leverage and looked down in dismay at the tangles in her hair. Without thinking, she reached down and grabbed Mamoru's hand to pull him to his feet, oblivious to the startled looks she received from all sides as she stared at the popcorn snarled into her hair.

"That's IT!" she shouted furiously. "Someone get me a pair of scissors!"

"No!" every voice in the room shouted together. Usagi glared at them all and held out her hand expectantly.

"Don't be stupid, Odango," Mamoru muttered, bending down so the others couldn't hear him. "We'll just start over."

Usagi looked up to see Makoto staring at them oddly, as though she'd heard what he'd said and misinterpreted it – but of course that was impossible. She couldn't have heard his voice; he had spoken very softly. "I'll pick up the popcorn," the tall brunette offered.

"Naru-chan said you were probably down here working on your lab report," Ami began. "We thought if we all came down we could convince you to come upstairs with us."

"Yeah," Minako added, staring at the scene curiously. "You really should come meet those roommates! How you've kept them from us for four years I'll never know, Mamoru-san." Usagi rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please – you don't want to introduce Usagi to them, you want them for yourself," Rei muttered, and the two girls stared at one another in an increasingly hostile manner. Naru shook her head.

"Look, Usagi-chan – you're already in your pajamas and obviously you and Mamoru-san were doing something before we came in, so why don't we just go back downstairs without you?" she offered peaceably. Usagi decided to ignore the implications in her statement and nodded forcefully. The girls offered bows of apology and shuffled back to the hallway, whispering and giggling as they did. Makoto finished picking up the popcorn that had spilled on the floor and darted after them, shooting Usagi a thumbs up on her way out.

"Well, this sucks," Usagi muttered when she heard the door slam. Mamoru nodded.

"Motoki will hear about this within five minutes and so will the others," he agreed. "We really are never going to hear the end of it." Usagi dropped her head dejectedly, imagining the comments she would get in the morning from her roommates when an evil idea popped into her head and she turned to face her companion with a diabolical smirk.

"I know that look," he said fearfully. "That's your 'I'm going to get you back for this' look." He took two steps backward, hitting the back of his legs on the sofa and falling into the seat.

"Don't worry," she said soothingly. "I'm not going to get _you_ back for it." Her smile grew wider and she watched as the fear slid off his face, replaced by a look of curiosity and cunning.

"Motoki and the girls?" he asked, one eyebrow raised in inquiry. She nodded. "Jump up here, Odango. You can tell me about it while I fix your hair." Usagi returned to her position on the couch with her back to Mamoru as he brushed the snarls from her hair and she outlined her plan.

"That's brilliant," he crowed, laughter in his voice. "They won't know what hit them!" _Be careful, Usagi-chan,_ that voice whispered again. A flash of recognition hit her suddenly and she nearly doubled over, only stopping herself because she didn't want to have to explain it to Mamoru. It certainly wasn't the first time that Usagi had heard a voice inside her mind – a voice she didn't recognize but felt she should. She could remember it very clearly, the first time she heard it.

_It was a Saturday, a week after she'd been released from the hospital, and she was at the arcade, sitting in front of the Sailor V game. _Haven't you forgotten something?_ She spun around, determined to find the source of the voice – it was familiar, strangely so, and for the oddest reason she visualized the face of a black cat with an oddly shaped bald spot on its forehead._

When a quick perusal of the room showed that she was not being watched and that no one was near enough to have said anything, she turned back to the game, frustrated that she'd lost.

Honestly, Usagi-chan, don't you think you should have remembered by now?__

She stood up slowly and turned in a circle, peeking to make sure that there was no one hiding in the seats nearest her. For some reason, she couldn't shake the image of the black cat – she'd never even owned one. Well, if you won't remember, the very least you can do is go home and write your English paper!__

Usagi jumped, startled. She took a deep breath and tried to analyze what was going on, coming to the conclusion that she had clearly gone crazy. She was hearing a voice in her head, a voice she was certain belonged to a cat she'd never seen, and the cat was lecturing her about remembering things and doing her homework. She felt herself nodding, and knew that hysterical laughter was only a deep breath away.

"I've lost it," she whispered to herself. "Really and truly lost it."

"Usagi-chan?" The familiar voice belonged to Motoki, the boy that worked in the arcade. Usagi turned to face him with a falsely cheerful smile. "Are you okay?"

"Motoki-onii-san, have you ever heard a voice in your head tell you to do homework?" she asked hopefully.

Motoki laughed a bit and smiled, nodding his head. "Sure. It's your conscience, Usagi-chan. It's there to remind you that sometimes we can't do what we want to do; we have to take care of our responsibilities first."

"So I'm not crazy?"

"Sure you are, Odango," an annoyingly familiar voice replied. Motoki frowned and Usagi felt the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stick up.

"If I'm not," she muttered under her breath, "I definitely will be soon if you don't leave me alone." Without waiting for a response, she spun on her heel and stalked out of the arcade, furious with the fates that seemed determined to throw Mamoru into her path and slightly relieved that Motoki had a voice inside his head, too.

Of course, she was pretty sure Motoki's conscience didn't speak to him in the voice of a black cat.

Within a few weeks, Usagi had learned to live with the voice. She accepted that everyone had a conscience, and when it wasn't begging her to remember (remember what, she couldn't help but wonder) it was guilting her into studying. At least eighty percent of her grade increase was due to the studying she'd done to make the voice shut up. That the voice didn't approve of her plan was nothing new, really. It had often not approved of her thoughts and while she normally tried to humor it (it wasn't quite as annoying then) this would be one time she didn't.

"I rather thought so," she said, bringing herself back to the present and brushing aside the feline's voice. "How's the hair coming?"

"Nearly finished," Mamoru muttered, holding a lock of it in his hand firmly and tugging the brush through a persistent tangle. When the brush moved through without resistance, he tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around gratefully. "You sure you want to do this?"

"Absolutely." Her voice was wicked with anticipation. "Rei is gonna just die."

"Well, we should hurry up and get settled before they come back with the whole crew," Mamoru urged, standing and making his way towards her bedroom. She smiled, following him and closing the door behind her.

"Do you want to be against the wall or on the outside?" she asked politely, as though it were an every day occurrence for Mamoru to be sharing her bed. He thought about it for a moment and smirked.

"Outside, I think. We want to make sure Mako-chan notices right away," he explained. She nodded. "I'll just – uh – turn around so you can change." She nodded, a hot blush going to her cheeks as she spun to put her back to her biggest tormenter-turned-co-conspirator. She walked to her dresser and tried not to look at the bare back in the mirror as she pulled her one slinky nightgown out of the drawer. Suddenly, this didn't seem like such a good plan at all. She would be nearly naked in a bed next to a nearly naked Mamoru – and her body was definitely allergic to his. It proved it every time he tried to touch her.

"Can I turn around yet?" he asked and she shook her head, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't see her.

"No, not yet," she said quietly, slipping out of her comfy cotton pajamas and into the short silky gown. She made her way to the bed and climbed under the covers, turning her back towards the edge and scooting over towards the wall. "Now."

The bed dipped down behind her and the light went out. Usagi's eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness and her body tensed, waiting for the touch of his bare chest against her back. "I won't hurt you, Usagi-chan," he whispered soothingly, his arm reaching across her body to settle at her waist. He tugged her into his chest and she waited for her body's reaction, but it didn't come. Instead, there was a slight tingle in her shoulder where his breath was hot against her skin and a tugging feeling in her stomach where his hand was draped; neither was unpleasant, exactly, but they were certainly foreign. "Sleep while you can," he murmured. "When Mako-chan comes in here and sees this, I have a feeling that all hell is going to break loose." Usagi forced her giggles down, the image of Makoto's face when she walked into their bedroom making her nearly hysterical.

* * *

"He's dead!" Luna shouted from the balcony outside Usagi's apartment. Artemis leapt up to join her from the floor below.

"What's wrong?" he asked comfortingly, noting that her eyes were narrowed and there was a look on her face that spoke of murder.

"Mamoru is in my innocent Usagi's bed!" she growled. He shook his head.

"I know we would have hoped that it wouldn't have happened quite this way, but aren't you overreacting?" he asked calmly, his tone soothing.

"He's not there because either of them _want_ him to be there," she grumbled, snorting at his ignorance. "He's there because they are playing some kind of practical joke on the girls because they made the worst out of one of Usagi-chan's klutz attacks earlier."

"Well…" he trailed off, unable to find any logic in the actions. "Whose harebrained idea was this?" he asked curiously, afraid he already knew the answer.

"Which one of them is named after a rabbit?" Luna spat, irritated.

"Did you try to talk her out of it?" Artemis demanded, amazed that she would let this happen in her fury.

"Of course I did," she fumed. "Usagi-chan dismissed me! It's one of the few times she has." The last was added quietly, as though it hurt her feelings when her mistress ignored her.

* * *

Motoki groaned. Makoto was heavier than she looked, and at the moment he was supporting her extremely drunken frame through her apartment towards her bedroom. Ami and Naru had left earlier and made their way upstairs. Neither girl was much of a drinker and had barely touched their drinks all night. Makoto, on the other hand…he shook his head. Of course, he hadn't seen Rei or Minako in quite some time, now that he considered it. And Zoisite was passed out on the sofa…Oh, dear.

He mentally shrugged; he wasn't responsible for Minako and Rei's morals. Right now his only responsibility was to make sure that Makoto made it to her bed unmolested – though the way her breasts were brushing against his chest as she stumbled was making that a rather difficult proposition. He steeled his resolve and pushed her through the living room, noting the hairbrush lying on the coffee table with confusion before another stumble put Makoto firmly into his arms – and her breasts firmly into his chest. He sucked in a breath, ignoring her throaty chuckles at the action.

"Come on, Mako-chan," he muttered through clenched teeth. He'd been celibate since Reika's death and his body was reacting in a very betraying way to the slender brunette with the lush curves. "Let's get you to bed." She laughed again.

"That sounds like fun, Motoki-kun," she whispered in what she probably thought was a seductive manner – and might have been had she not slurred around her words, making it sound more like, "Tha' shoundsh li' fun, 'otoki-ku." He shook his head.

"Alone, Mako-chan," he clarified. "You're sloshed, kiddo." She rolled her eyes and opened the door to her bedroom, switching on the overhead light. Motoki blinked, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the brightness and ignoring the bare shoulder he saw emerging from Usagi's bedclothes. Did she usually sleep topless like that, he wondered.

"Whoshe tha'?" Makoto asked suddenly, pointing at Usagi's bed. Motoki looked, praying he wasn't about to violate the privacy of the blonde girl in the worst possible way – and saw black. He blinked. Usagi's hair wasn't black, nor was it that short. In fact, he could think of only one person who had hair that color. He scanned the bare shoulder, praying that he was wrong, that he would not find a tattoo of a climbing rose on a crescent moon and closed his eyes, wondering if he pretended he didn't actually see it that it would go away. He opened them again and saw to his horror that it was still there.

"Mamoru," he breathed. Makoto's eyes widened and the film of drunkenness seemed to slip from them immediately.

"In Usagi-chan's bed?" she asked as though she was just as shocked as he was. He nodded, noting the silver-blonde hair spread over his best friend's arm, hiding the face of the other occupant. The length, if not the color, was enough to tell him that the other person was definitely Usagi. They stared for ong moments in silence before Makoto let out an ear-piercing shriek, making the two in the bed jump into a seated position, turning to face them.

"What's wrong, Mako-chan?" Ami asked from the doorway, Naru on her heels. Makoto only pointed at the still bleary-eyed couple in the bed, Mamoru with his arm protectively around Usagi's shoulders, his bare chest clearly visible against the pink covers. Four jaws dropped to the floor as she snuggled into his arms, resting her face against his chest and staring at them reproachfully.

Motoki was speechless. He'd often wondered if those two might have a hidden affection for each other under the insults and bickering, especially on the few occasions he'd witnessed them, unobserved, actually being somewhat nice to one another, but this was beyond anything he could have ever imagined. Rei stormed in, pushing past Ami and Naru at that moment and shrieked, her voice so high-pitched that Motoki wondered if she'd been taking lessons from Usagi.

"What the hell is going on here?" she demanded.

"You're all disturbing our sleep," Mamoru said coolly, ignoring any implication that the two of them sleeping in the same bed was the anomaly in the room.

"Why are you in Usagi-chan's bed to begin with?" Naru asked with narrowed eyes.

"And why are her clothes by the door?" Makoto added, punching her palm threateningly. Mamoru smirked.

"I'm in her bed because she wants me to be here," Mamoru answered. "And I suppose her clothes are by the door because that is where she took them off."

"Why did she take them off?" Rei asked menacingly and Motoki was suddenly afraid for Mamoru's life.

"Because I didn't want them on," Usagi said, speaking for the first time since they'd woken her. Her voice was soft, but firm, brooking no arguments or further questions.

"Usagi-chan?" Ami asked, looking at her friend for a sign.

"You're all overreacting. Mamo-chan is right – you're disturbing our sleep!" she added forcefully. Jaws dropped around the room once more.

Mamoru bent his head until his lips were brushing the girl's ear and whispered loudly enough for them to hear, "I say we just ignore them, Usako, and go back to sleep – unless you'd rather occupy our time in other ways?" Motoki felt his face flush at the implication Mamoru had just made and watched, astounded, as Usagi playfully slapped Mamoru's chest and giggled.

"Shh!" she said in a stage whisper. "Sleep now – occupy me later." Her tone was seductive and Motoki knew that he would never be able to look at sweet, innocent little Usagi the same way again. Without so much as a glance at the five people crowded into the room around them, Mamoru pulled Usagi down with him and settled her comfortably on his chest, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist and his other hand tangling itself into her hair, spread out over them both like a silver blanket. A smirk hovered on the corner of his best friend's lips as his eyes drifted closed.

Motoki watched as the girls shuffled out of the room, Makoto tugging him along after her and switching off the light. He closed the door on the lovers and dropped, dumbfounded, into the lounger in the living room.

"Mamoru-kun and Usagi-chan?" he asked of the room at large, his voice high and squeaky.

Makoto's heartfelt, "I need a drink," was the only answer.

* * *

"Oh my god!" Usagi whispered loudly in the darkness. "Did you see their faces?" She buried her face into Mamoru's chest to stifle her giggles.

"It was absolutely priceless," he agreed. "I thought Motoki was going to faint he turned so white." She felt his frame shake under hers as he tried to hold back his own laughter.

"Rei was the best – I thought she was going to light you on fire right there!" she continued, remembering the look on her friend's face as the other girl had stared at them. She felt Mamoru's nod in agreement.

"No kidding," he muttered darkly. "It's a good thing we weren't anywhere near her sacred fire."

"I thought I was going to burst out laughing when Mako-chan was threatening you," she said with a very undignified snort.

"I about choked on my tongue – 'Mamo-chan' – really?" he asked. "That is so not manly." She laughed, burying her face into his chest again and ignoring the pleasant scent of his skin.

"It was all I could think of at the moment," she muttered. "I couldn't very well call you Baka in front of them right then. Did you really need to go so far as 'Usako'? That's the most sickeningly sweet nickname I've ever heard," she muttered distastefully.

"Turnabout is fair play, Odango," he responded with a chuckle. "This was a brilliant plan, though – I have to hand it to you."

"Why thank you," she said gratefully. "How long do you think we should keep it up?"

"I say we give it a week or two before we have a very big, public break-up in front of them all – and then, when they are trying to console us over it, we spring it on them that we were making the whole thing up," he mused. She nodded, snuggling closer to him.

"Sounds good to me," she agreed, yawning. "G'night, Mamo-chan."

"G'night, Usako," he replied, tightening his arm around her waist as her breathing evened out and she drifted off.

When she woke in the morning, Mamoru was behind her, his left arm and leg pinning her to the bed under him and his face buried in her hair. She pushed him off, none too gently, and climbed over him to see if Makoto was awake, startled that the other bed was empty. She slid down to the floor and crossed to her dresser, pulling out clothes. She knew if she went into the bathroom to change and got caught the game would be over, so she darted a glance over her shoulder at the still-sleeping Mamoru and pulled the nightgown over her head, hurriedly putting her jeans and pink button up on. She slipped her wallet in her back pocket and turned to find that he had rolled over and was lying on his back, his eyes still closed, his bare chest moving up and down with his deep breathing.

She didn't know why she was so hesitant to touch him now, she'd been wrapped up against that chest intimately all night, even if it was just for show; she shouldn't be scared to touch him now. She firmed her resolve and reached out, softly pushing against his bare arm, noticing the red and silver of his tattoo for the first time. She bent closer, peering at his arm, wondering why the image of the rose entwined with the crescent moon stirred something in her.

"Wake up, Baka," she muttered, shoving him hard with a playful smile on her face. His eyes opened and his hand grabbed at her, pulling her down onto his chest.

"Good morning, Odango," he whispered silkily. Her breath caught in her chest as his arms circled around her, pinning her down. Makoto came into the room then, her eyes going wide and backed out slowly, stammering apologies.

"How did you know?" she asked, looking up at his face. He shrugged.

"I have excellent hearing." He released her, indicating that she should turn around so that he could dress and she complied willingly. "You can turn around now," he said after a few minutes.

"You probably want to get home and shower," she said softly, a little uncertain of her footing this morning. "I'll walk you out."

"Let me help you with your hair first," he said, gesturing towards the bed. She looked down and groaned. Her hair was worse than it had been the night before, given that she'd slept with it loose, something she never did. "I think we left your brush in the living room." He crossed to the door and walked out, his shirt unbuttoned. She heard muffled voices coming from the doorway, but she refused to concentrate too hard on what was being said. Within moments, he strode back into the room and she sat on the still warm sheets with her back to him.

Mamoru knelt behind her and began to methodically pull the brush through her hair. Makoto, obviously realizing that she was safe since they were both dressed, choose that moment to return and rummage through her drawers, throwing curious looks at Usagi's reflection, looks that were resolutely ignored. Usagi did notice that it seemed to take Makoto at least twice as long as usual to select her clothing, and she wondered if her roommate had been sent in by the others to spy on them. A smile crossed her face at the thought, and she allowed a small moan to slip past her lips when Mamoru's hand brushed against the back of her neck when he lifted her hair. She watched in delight as the brunette's eyes widened in alarm in the mirror and she stood perfectly still, staring at the reflection of the two former enemies engaged in what was obviously an intimate act.

Usagi bit her bottom lip in an effort to stifle her laughter when Mamoru, obviously catching on to the game, kissed her hair when he finished, burying his nose in her neck with an audible groan. Makoto slammed her drawer shut and ran from the room, leaving the door wide open. She felt Mamoru shaking against her back and her own body began to shudder in response, cursing Makoto for leaving the door open so that they couldn't let loose the laughter that was bubbling towards the surface.

"Her face," he whispered softly, his voice strained.

"I know," she answered, trying desperately not to laugh.

"Walk me out?" he asked, standing behind her and offering his hand. She nodded and slid off the bed, taking the hairbrush from him and tossing it on the covers, slipping her hand into his. It seemed that whatever reprieve she'd been issued the night before was over, however, for her fingers flinched away from his as though the skin were burning. She forced past the instinct and curled her fingers tighter, willing them to stay intertwined with his.

"I need to run out for a few things this morning anyway," she murmured, leading him through the hallway. When they reached the living room, she wasn't surprised to notice that Motoki, Rei, Ami and Naru were staring at them with blatant shock and curiosity. She looked back at Mamoru and noticed that he still hadn't buttoned his shirt, and as she acknowledged that he was rather attractive when he was all rumpled, she wondered if perhaps the girls were not so much shocked as _in shock_. She tugged harder and pulled him into the small entry way, slipping on the same black flats as Mamoru bent down to put on his own shoes. She noticed a set of vivid blue eyes watching stealthily around the corner and gave a wicked grin.

Mamoru straightened and she slid her hands around his waist beneath the open shirt, tensing as she waited for the instinctive cringe and pushed up against him when she realized it wasn't going to happen, somewhat surprised when he lowered his head in response. He wrapped his arms around her waist briefly before slipping them down to cup her rear, forcing her even closer as his mouth descended on hers. It was – nice – she decided a few timeless moments later. She didn't really think she'd enjoy it, but it was actually rather pleasant, kissing Mamoru. His body was warm against her bare arms and the firm grip of his hands on her backside was even somewhat arousing.

She broke the kiss with that thought. This was supposed to be a joke – just pretend to get back at their friends, she reminded herself. She was not supposed to actually _be_ attracted to him. He smiled slowly at her, his eyes a deeper blue than she could ever recall having seen them.

"I'll see you tonight, Usako?" he asked and she nodded. She allowed her smile to break free, knowing that the others would think it was merely a show of happiness over the prospect of seeing her lover again. She watched as he walked through the door and into the elevator, her smile never faltering, even as he winked while the doors closed between them. Why had her body suddenly stopped fearing his? And why was it only relenting when they were forced into intimate situations. _Forced?_ the voice mocked and her eyes narrowed.

_Fine,_ she admitted silently, rolling her eyes. _Not forced – but still, even _you_ have to admit it is strange!_

_Not nearly as strange as you think, Usagi-chan,_ it said, a distinct hint of laughter in its voice. _In fact, if I were you, I'd be more curious about why you react that way at all. It's obvious your body is not adverse to 'forced' intimacy – so why would it be adverse to casual touches?_

_I thought you disapproved of my plan!_ she demanded sulkily.

_Just because I don't approve of your plan, doesn't mean that I don't approve of Mamoru-san,_ it whispered softly, seriously.

_What do you mean by that?_ Usagi shouted at her conscience, but, as usual, whenever she most wished for the voice to speak, it was silent. She belatedly realized she was standing in the open doorway of her apartment, her friends staring holes into her back, waiting to grill her, and she suddenly decided that she didn't feel up to answering their questions. She stepped through the door and closed it quickly, taking the stairs to the first floor of the building and setting off a brisk walk.

Usagi had a single goal in mind when she left her building that morning, and when she exited the building she was looking for an hour later, she felt wonderful. She wanted to see what everyone else thought, so she jogged back to her apartment quickly, by passing the elevators in favor of the stairs and let herself into the apartment. All conversation ceased as she walked into the living room, unsurprised that not only were her roommates there, but Motoki as well.

"Usagi-chan?" Ami asked slowly, staring at her friend with wide eyes. Usagi nodded happily.

"Usagi-chan, what did you do to yourself?" Motoki asked. Naru's eyes held a hint of tears and Rei, Makoto and Minako were completely silent in shock.

"Usagi-chan – your _hair_!" Naru wailed, the tears finally falling. Usagi smiled at her friends' exaggerated reaction.

"Do you like it?" she asked, spinning around so they could get the full view of her silver-blonde hair falling gracefully in waves to her shoulders. "It was getting to be such a hassle as long as it was, and it's really inconvenient for someone to have to brush it out for me every morning."

"But Usagi-chan, we normally brush it out at night," Makoto reminded her gently. Usagi smirked.

"Yes, but obviously that isn't going to work anymore and Mamo-chan and I have early morning classes," she grinned.

"So it wasn't just a one-night stand?" Rei asked slowly and Usagi smirked.

"With a guy like Mamo-chan, there's no one-anything," she said in response, noting the way her friends' faces gaped at the implications. Motoki fell into a dead faint, sliding from the sofa to the floor, but Minako looked at her oddly for a moment and then shook her head slowly as though she was trying to clear it. Usagi bit back a laugh, imagining Mamoru's face when she told him about this scene. He was going to love it.


	3. First Date

_Don't you think this has gone on long enough?_

Usagi ignored the voice, turning over on her bed as she finished typing her lab report from the night before. One by one, her roommates had come in, trying to pry information out of her, but all she could tell them was the truth – well – a modified version of it. She knew they were getting desperate when they sent in Motoki.

"Usagi-chan, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked, sitting down on Makoto's bed. Usagi sighed and closed her laptop, sitting up on her bed with her legs crossed and resting her elbows on her knees.

"Sure, Motoki-onii-san," she said in her most innocent voice. "What do you need to talk to me about?" He looked at her like she was crazy for a moment and continued.

"Mamoru, of course," he stated. She smirked.

"What about Mamo-chan?" she asked, putting extra emphasis on the sickening nickname to see if she could get a rise out of the normally-calm boy. He flushed.

"This seems very sudden," he began. "How did it happen? The night before last the two of you were yelling at one another in the hallway and then last night…" he trailed off. She rolled her eyes and told her story again.

"Mamo-chan joined me at the coffee shop and we spent some time studying together," she recited. "He didn't want to go to the party and I offered to let him come back home with me. We watched Godzilla and I tried to fix my hair, but it was too long and he offered to help me with it." She paused, as if savoring a memory .

"One thing led to another and we ended up on the floor in the living room when the girls came in and interrupted us," she said. So far, she hadn't told a single lie and she was proud of the fact that she could manage the whole thing with a straight face. "When they left, we decided to move to the bedroom."

Usagi noticed the way he turned pale at that and fought her smile. "Would you like the details from there or would you prefer me to skip over it and leave it to your imagination?" she asked sweetly, taking a perverted delight in the flush that crossed his face.

"Neither," he groaned. "So why did you cut your hair?" he asked, clearly wanting to change the subject, but she wasn't going to let him.

"Well, I've been thinking about it for a long time, and this morning it was so tangled…" she let the words hang for a moment, allowing him to think what he would. She could almost see the vision of she and Mamoru in her bed with her hair loose around them on his face. "Obviously, if I brush it before I go to bed now, it's just going to get tangled again by morning, but I really don't have time in the mornings to bother with the hassle of brushing it out – and, like I said earlier, Mamo-chan and I both have early classes. It would be a shame to get up so much earlier than usual to brush my hair when there are more interesting things we could be doing."

"Stop!" Motoki muttered violently. "That's more visual than I needed."

"Sorry, Motoki-onii-san," she said sweetly. He glared at her.

"At least tell me you were safe," he groaned, clearly horrified at the idea that his 'little sister' might have done something so recklessly stupid.

"Absolutely," she assured him in perfect honesty. In fact, she mused as he stood and walked towards the door, she hadn't told him a single lie – she might have implicated things that weren't true, but that wasn't the same thing. "Oh, by the way," she called when he reached the doorway. He turned and looked at her. "Would you mind terribly if I asked you not come home tonight?"

She waited as the full meaning of her words swept over him and struggled to contain her laughter. He shook his head, obviously not trusting himself to speak. "I'm sure Mako-chan will let you sleep in here," she offered slyly. She'd been trying to set the two up for the past six months, and she figured this little ruse with Mamoru would be the perfect excuse to push their roommates at one another. He gulped visibly.

"In here, Usagi-chan?" he whispered, his eyes wide.

"In here, Motoki-onii-san," she repeated firmly. "I'll even change the sheets on my bed for you." While she only meant to assure him that he wouldn't be forced to share a bed with Makoto, or sleep on her pink sheets, she knew very well what he would infer from that sentence. He darted out of the room without another word and she picked up her cell phone and crossed to the door, closing it softly.

He picked up on the third ring. "Odango," he said cheerfully. "How's it going?"

"Beautifully," she informed him. "Their faces – they all came in here to get the story out of me and Motoki's face was the best," she crowed. He laughed heartily, probably imagining how that conversation had gone.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon, demanding to know what I was thinking," he mused aloud.

"Probably. I stuck with the truth, for the most part," she said quickly, wanting to make sure that he understood the story. "You joined me for coffee and we came back here. You brushed my hair and we ended up on the floor and when the girls 'interrupted' us, we moved to the bedroom. I let him draw his own conclusions on _how_ all of that happened."

"Whatever I may have said about your intelligence in the past, I formally revoke it," he said admirably. "You're a genius, Usagi-chan."

"Well, as long as you stick to the story, we should be okay," she said, brushing off the compliment without acknowledging it. "Come by to get me around six. They should all be here, getting ready to go out."

"We might actually have to have a date or two for them to buy it," he muttered as though just now thinking of it. "How does dinner sound?"

"Food!" she squealed happily and he laughed.

"I take it that meets with your approval?"

"Of course," she said, laughing. "You know how I love food. I'll see you at six."

"See you at six – and, Odango – dress up." He hung up before she could respond and she fell back on her bed, laughing a bit.

"This is so much fun it should be illegal," she muttered to herself. A knock on the door startled her and she called out to the person. "Come in."

Minako entered the room, looking at her curiously.

"Just the girl I wanted to see," Usagi said happily. "Mamo-chan is taking me out for dinner tonight and he told me to dress up and I haven't a clue what to wear." Minako's eyes, she was happy to note, went wide.

"You mean the guy that's called you a human garbage disposal actually wants to buy you food?" she asked, astounded. The peculiar look slipped off her face to be replaced by a beaming smile. "I know just the thing!" Minako darted out of the room and returned a few moments later with a dress still in the plastic wrapping provided by the department store when it was purchased.

"I bought it two weeks ago and haven't had a chance to wear it, yet," she explained, hanging it over the door and pulling the plastic up dramatically. Usagi watched in amusement, her eyes taking in the simple black dress. It was appropriately low-cut, as anything she'd expect from Minako. The straps were thin, and the hem would hit her high on the thighs. She shook her head.

"Minako-chan, it is very you, but it certainly nothing I could wear out with Mamo-chan," she said with a little laugh.

"Too sexy for him, you think?" Minako asked critically, standing back from the dress to admire it before nodding in answer to her own question. "You're right. We need something more sophisticated. Less sex, more mature," she muttered. She dashed from the room again, bringing back another plastic-wrapped creation.

Usagi waited for Minako to reveal the next dress, eyeing the vibrant red in distaste. If at all possible, the neckline on the second dress plunged even lower, and the hem was smaller. She shook her head. "No." The word made Minako wince with its finality, but she just sighed and darted from the room for a third time, returning with another dress. Usagi was beginning to get annoyed.

Minako pulled the plastic off, revealing a simple silver silk sheath. The straps were metal-links the shape of flowers with small stones in the centers. The neckline was straight across and the hem would hit her only slightly above the knees. She nodded her approval.

"I don't know why I bought it, really," Minako muttered critically, looking at the simple dress. "It's not really me at all. Too drab. Silver always reminds me of nuns," she mused. "It's definitely more you than me," she declared finally .

"Thanks, Minako-chan," Usagi muttered under her breath. The blonde nodded and smiled, pulling the two rejected dresses down and holding them up against her body in front of the mirror.

"Kunzite and I are planning on going dancing tonight," she said. "I have the strangest feeling about him, Usagi-chan." Her voice grew distant. "Do you remember how we all felt after the accident?" Usagi nodded. It was hard to forget something like that. "That's how I felt when I met him last night. It seems so strange that he and the others disappeared to America like that right after we woke up and didn't come back until this week."

"So you think we knew them, too?" Usagi asked, sitting down on her bed and watching curiously as Minako continued her critical survey of herself in the mirror. Blue eyes met in the reflection and Minako nodded shyly. Usagi stared. In four years, she'd seen Minako go completely insane over one boy after another, but she'd never seen Minako _shy_. She was actually blushing!

"Minako-chan, wait a minute!" Usagi said, suddenly realizing something. "You never came home last night!"

"Like you're one to talk!" Minako teased back, giggling bashfully. "At least no one walked in on me – TWICE!"

"Ah, you heard about that, did you?" Usagi said, purposefully lowering her eyes so that Minako couldn't see her laughter.

"You and Mamoru-san half-dressed in your bed?" Minako said, her voice indicating her astonishment. "Yeah, I heard about it. And then those little moments Makoto walked in on this morning, too." Usagi laughed, hoping that Minako would take it as anything but what it was, hysterical laughter over her friends' gullibility.

"I guess we're the scarlet women of the group," Usagi teased. Minako shook her head.

"Not just us," she whispered, leaning closer. "Rei only came home because she and Jadeite had a rather nasty – and loud – argument over which side of the bed he was going to sleep on." Usagi's jaw dropped. The only downside that she could see to this practical joke she and Mamoru were playing on their friends was that she couldn't chastise her friends for their loose behavior when she was pretending to engage in it, too. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure she disapproved anyway. Any man who could make Minako blush like that was worthy of her approbation. And any man who could stand up to Rei was definitely interesting enough to not dismiss out of hand.

"I think I want to meet this Jadeite," she muttered. Minako nodded understandingly. "I'll wear the silver dress."

"Wear your hair down, Usagi-chan," Minako ordered. "Now that it's so short, you definitely want to show it off a bit. I'll help with your make-up when you're ready." Usagi smiled as Minako bubbled out of the room, the red and black dresses over her shoulder. She truly had the best friends in the world.

* * *

"This is getting out of hand, Artemis," Luna said angrily. "Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san are taking their little stunt too far, and what about Minako and Kunzite! How did you let _that_ happen?"

"I was out here, trying to comfort you because you were going to kill Mamoru-san for innocently sleeping next to your charge," he snapped, more furious than he could recall having been before. "Do you think I don't remember how he's betrayed her in the past? Do you think I wasn't doing everything in my power to keep her away from him? When he and the others left for America four years ago I rejoiced! He's back in Japan for a week and she's already fallen under his spell again."

"Perhaps it is he who has fallen under hers; Minako-chan is Aphrodite incarnate, after all." Luna's tone was smug and he fought the urge to retaliate.

"I know that," he snapped. "I just don't want to see her get hurt again." His voice was low, soft; defeated. "We have to jolt their memories somehow."

"I can't believe that intimacy didn't reawaken those two at least," Luna mused.

"We don't know that Kunzite didn't know already," Artemis reminded her. Luna nodded. "We have to reawaken them."

"It's been too long, Artemis," Luna said. "I don't know what will happen to them if we try it. It could break their minds."

"Can't you examine Usagi-chan's thoughts a little and see if there is anything you can expand on for her?" he demanded.

"I can try – but it might take a few days. I'll need to wait until she's asleep or she might feel me in there." Artemis nodded. "I'll start tonight."

* * *

At six, Usagi heard Mamoru knock on the door. She knew Makoto would tell him that she was running behind – but he should already know that, after all. He'd known her for four years, and it wasn't like this was a real date. So why was she so nervous? She'd showered and fixed her hair, smoothing it with a weightless crème and applying her blow-dryer on its lowest setting. When she was finished, her hair shone in blonde waves. She knew Mamoru would make fun of her for the care she was taking with her appearance, but she knew that the girls would never believe their ruse if she wasn't just as careful as she had been in past years.

She allowed Minako to zip her into the silver dress and apply her make-up carefully, straining to listen in on Makoto's conversation with Mamoru, but their voices were too soft for her to catch. Minako finished and stepped back to admire her handiwork, giving Usagi a soft, encouraging smile.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Usagi-chan?" she asked. "Two days ago you couldn't stand him and now you're sharing a bed with him?"

"I'm positive Minako-chan," she assured her friend. "We're happy." Minako nodded once and Usagi stood, smoothing imaginary wrinkles from the silk and stepped into the strappy sandals that Minako set at her feet.

"You're beautiful, Usa-chan," Minako breathed.

"Go get yourself ready," Usagi said, ignoring the compliment. She was passable, but only someone who loved her as much as Minako would ever think she was beautiful. She followed Minako out of the room, taking a brief moment to look around the room, noting that Makoto and Mamoru had fallen into silence.

Instead of teasing laughter or even stunned approval, she read horror in Mamoru's eyes and wondered if Minako had made her look like a clown, wishing that she'd looked in the mirror before she left her bedroom.

"Usa-ko," he breathed softly, his eyes wide. "Your hair…" She sighed in relief and smiled.

"Mamo-chan," she teased, watching his eyes carefully. "It means less work in the mornings before class and more time for sleep – or other things…" she let the words hang and his eyes darkened minutely, a smile crossing his face.

"Well, I suppose I could get used to it," he said, his smile growing wider at the lengths she was willing to go to make this charade look real. "You look stunning – radiant."

"Thank you," she replied. "You look very well yourself." Their interested audience watched the stilted exchange curiously. Usagi hadn't lied; Mamoru looked very nice in plain black slacks and a pale blue shirt and tie. Her eyes darted to the others, noting the rapt expressions around the room and she offered him a small warning smile before she crossed to his side and wrapped her arms around his neck.

His hands slid across her waist lightly – there was none of the intensity of their kiss that morning, but she was surprised by the arousal that hit her at the chaste brush of his lips against hers. "Are you ready?" he asked against her lips and she nodded.

"Mako-chan," she called over her shoulder as she walked out of the room, "Motoki will be staying in our room tonight." Mamoru looked at her curiously, but she shook her head softly. When they got outside and closed the door, she smiled at him.

"I forgot to tell you on the phone," she explained. "We're staying in your room tonight and I arranged for Motoki to stay in mine."

"Are you matchmaking, Odango?" he asked seriously and she nodded. "Good – I was wondering if he'd ever realize that he was attracted to her ."

They shared a quiet laugh, but his voice turned serious again. "Now, tell me seriously why you cut your hair."

"I was wondering if you were going to ask about that," she said playfully, realizing that they had gone nearly twenty-four hours without an argument. "I told you last night that I've been wanting to cut it – this morning's debacle was the perfect excuse."

"No offense, but I liked it better the other way," he said. She just smiled. "You know, it's been almost a whole day since we've had one of our arguments."

"I was just thinking that," she admitted. "I suppose being co-conspirators carries a risk with it – we might actually become friends after this."

"Perish the thought, Odango Atama," he sighed dramatically. They both laughed. "Back to business; I made certain to let Kunzite know where we were going tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if he and Minako show up."

"In other words, we keep up the act until we're back in the privacy of your bedroom," she clarified. He nodded. "Same as last night?"

They didn't speak much on the ride to the restaurant. Usagi was noting the luxurious interior of the vehicle curiously, but she felt peculiar asking about it – especially given the fact that his hand was draped casually – and possessively – across her knee. Truth be told, she was finding it hard to breathe normally, and given the argument she'd had earlier, with her conscience, she didn't particularly care to explore why that was. Better to ignore it, and the voice, and pretend to find the car fascinating. Over dinner, Usagi made sure to play up to Mamoru, her eyes constantly darting towards the door, waiting for Minako and her new lover to come through. She wondered if she should be more disappointed than she was when they walked towards the door of the restaurant without having encountered her roommate. Shouldn't she be frustrated that she'd spent so much time flirting with Mamoru without an audience?

If possible, the ride back to their building was even more quiet than the ride over had been. Without really thinking about it, Usagi reached across the console of the car and slipped her hand into his, barely noticing when he shifted his fingers so that her hand was lying across his thigh, his hand pinning it down. Her eyes were heavy, and she allowed the hum of the engine to lull her into a peaceful doze, her head listing towards the shoulder of the man beside her. She opened her eyes briefly when she felt the two collide, but closed them again almost immediately. In her half-awake state, she saw nothing wrong with her position; it was comfortable and she was so sleepy – and there was some kind of buzzing in the back of mind, a strange noise she wasn't sure she was entirely unfamiliar with. It seemed to be lulling her into a deeper slumber, and she happily complied, a smile drifting across her face.

* * *

_Just breathe,_ he reminded himself for what felt like the millionth time. Just last night, he'd been settled on an uncomfortable reclining chair while she'd been a hand's-breadth away on the sofa – and he'd still felt more comfortable then than he did now. Now she was the length of the room away from him, sleeping peacefully in her own bed while he was snuggled under a pink bunny blanket – and he was suddenly uncomfortable. It had been awkward enough, waiting for her to come back into the room after she finished changing into a pink nightshirt that looked incredibly soft. He'd itched to reach out and slide his hand over the material to see if it felt as soft as it looked. If he'd entertained similar thoughts about her skin, he'd pushed them resolutely to the side as she'd climbed under her covers.

It was odd, but he'd never figured Makoto for a pink girl. Usagi, definitely. That girl had been born to wear pink – her entire personality was built upon the color, but it seemed girly for the brusque Makoto. It wasn't that she wasn't feminine. Despite her exterior toughness, he knew that she was one hundred percent female under her tough-as-nails core. He'd just always assumed that her femininity was more of the vamp kind than the sweet and innocent. Though given what he now knew about Usagi – he shuddered at the thought – perhaps vamps wore pink, too. The bubbly, perky blonde had certainly vamped Mamoru.

Of course, none of this was getting him any closer to sleep. In fact, he'd wager, if he were a betting man, that the more he thought about Makoto's pink nightshirt and Usagi and Mamoru's bizarre new relationship, the further he'd get from slumber. To be sure, Makoto's pink nightshirt was definitely more disturbing to his state of mind than the other was. The way it moved with her body as she'd walked towards the bed, delineating the curve of her waist and the proud jut of her breasts had nearly made his mouth water. He remembered the way they'd felt crushed against his chest the night before as she'd pressed herself against him in her drunkenness and groaned.

"Motoki-kun?" Her voice was soft, thick with the beginnings of sleep and he stifled another groan. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he mumbled, embarrassed. He had been so certain that she was already asleep.

"You sure?" she asked. "I know I always have trouble sleeping in a strange bed, especially alone."

"I'm just being haunted by images of what might be happening in _my_ bed," he lied. He was rewarded by her giggles.

"Well, if I were you, I'd be more haunted by what happened in _that_ bed just last night," she teased, her voice sounding more alert, though still slightly husky, as though she were fighting to stay awake. He groaned, remembering the scene they'd walked in on the night before.

"Thanks, Mako-chan," he said with a pretend growl. "Now I'll really never get to sleep."

"Oh, hush," she muttered, and he opened his eyes to find that she was standing next to him, her arm held out – conveniently leaving the sleeve of her shirt gaping, offering him a tantalizing view of side of her bare breast. He closed his eyes again. He tensed as he felt her grasp his hand, pulling him into a sitting position.

"Come on, Motoki-kun," she grumbled. "You can sleep with me tonight. I'll keep the bad thoughts away."

_No!_ his mind screamed. If other body parts were screaming _yes_ he was determined to ignore them. Makoto obviously hadn't heard his mind's protest and dragged him out of the bed, tugging him across the tiny room to her own.

_I will not take advantage of Makoto,_ he told himself firmly, ignoring the way she slid into her bed, scooting across towards the wall to give him more room. _I will not take advantage of Makoto._ She turned over on her side, her back to him; her pink nightshirt rode up, giving him an excruciating view of the juncture of her thighs.

"I will not take advantage of Makoto." He slid into the bed beside her, unaware that he'd spoken aloud until she turned to face him.

"Why not?" she demanded, her eyes blazing brilliantly at him. "Is it because I'm not as pretty as Reika?"

"No, that's not it at all," he insisted, grasping her chin as she tried to turn away from him.

"Then why not?" she repeated, clearly hurt.

"I just – it wouldn't be right," he muttered, eyes downcast. He felt her hand wrap around his wrist, tugging it away from her face and waited for her to start shouting at him. Instead he felt her warm breath on his lips. He looked up, wondering why she was so close; another inch and he'd be kissing her.

"If you won't, then you leave me no choice but to do it myself," she whispered before she pressed her lips against his. He lost himself in that kiss, surprised when he realized that he'd forgotten to breathe at some point and was taking in panting gasps of air, one hand fisted in the loose brown curls at her nape and the other on her hip under that torturous pink nightshirt.

"Slow down, Mako-chan," he whispered softly, pulling his hand from beneath her shirt and reaching up to cup her face instead. "Let's just – slow down."

"Why?" she asked, a sultry frown puckering her gorgeous lips. He groaned again, wondering why he was torturing himself this way.

"Why are you so upset with the developments between Usagi and Mamoru?" he asked instead, leading up to his answer.

"It just seems fast – one day they can't stand each other and the next they're cuddled in her bed together? Even if they didn't do anything shouldn't they have tried to explore their feelings a little bit before jumping into the same bed?"

"Exactly," he muttered, satisfied that his point was clear when she nodded. "Now I'm going to go back to Usagi-chan's bed and try to sleep, and tomorrow we'll see about exploring our feelings a little bit."

"Motoki-kun, there's a flaw in your logic," she said, grabbing his arm to prevent him from leaving. He looked at her curiously. "We've never hated each other," she reminded him. "And I think that maybe we've liked one another for a long time now. If I promise to go to sleep, will you just stay here with me?" Her eyes were huge in the darkness, black and green and shining with what he could only term an inner light, and he knew he would deny her nothing, especially when she looked at him like that. He was going to be the most whipped man on the planet and he didn't think he even cared.

"Only if you promise to go straight to sleep," he agreed, pulling the covers over them both and allowing her to settle herself against his chest, her chestnut curls tickling his nose as she snuggled under his arm.

"G'night, Motoki-kun," she whispered, her voice heavy with sleep.

"Goodnight, Makoto-chan," he said, his own eyes drifting closed. "Sleep well, beautiful girl." He felt her smile against his bare chest as he slipped into sleep.

* * *

A rocking motion was what woke her, she realized, blinking blearily at the bright lights of the lobby of her apartment building.

"Go back to sleep, Usa-ko," a deep voice said in her ear. Her eyes closed obediently as her mind registered the voice and the sickeningly sweet nickname. The connections were drawn immediately; Mamoru was carrying her towards the elevators. She remembered closing her eyes in the car on the way back from the restaurant, but she didn't think she'd been out for that long. The buzzing was back, however, and it was less comforting than before; more annoying and persistent. It was actually giving her a headache, she thought before she drifted back into slumber.

The last thing she heard before her mind completely shut off was that same rich voice telling her she was beautiful, which her mind immediately dismissed as pure fantasy in her final moments of wakefulness.

She woke to find herself in what seemed to be a cave of some sort. She was cold, she realized immediately. As she looked down, she was forced to acknowledge that her attire might have something to do with it. The skirt of her outfit was far shorter than even the red dress Minako had brought to her earlier, barely covering the bottom of the white bodysuit she was wearing under it. She stared in wonder at the sailor collar and the red bow adorning it, wondering where in the world she'd ever purchased such a bizarre outfit and chanced a quick look around her surroundings, shuddering in fear as a part of her mind whispered that she had been here before.

In the shadows towards the back of the cave was what she could only term a demon. The woman had brilliant red hair falling to the floor in large waves and her dress showed far more than Usagi could ever recall having seen another woman expose in public. A light shone suddenly to the demon's right, and Usagi felt her heart contract painfully in her chest at the sight of the man kneeling with his lips pressed to the demon's hand in a show of ultimate obedience.

The demon's lips were moving, but the blood rushing suddenly to her ears made her deaf and the words drifted into nothingness as the man stood, pulling a sword – a _sword_ - from its scabbard at his side and giving her a full view of his face. She stumbled, fell backwards, landing painfully on her knees as her eyes roved over the face she'd come to know quite intimately in the past four years – and even more intimately in the past two days: Mamoru. He was wearing a strange armor and he was – he was _attacking her!_ Usagi shrieked as she felt his hands close around her neck and her hands flew up to his wrists, trying to pull him off. She couldn't breathe, and she knew that she was slowly losing consciousness.

She did the only thing she could think to do; she screamed, tears pouring down her cheeks, and kicked at him viciously.

"Usagi-chan!" he shouted at her, and her eyes flew open. His hands were no longer around her neck; they were around her back, pulling her into his chest. She winced, waiting for the cold metal of his black armor to abrade her, but she found only bare skin and she blinked, wondering how he'd managed to change so quickly.

She pushed against him, breaking his loose hold and fell to the floor, staring up at Mamoru as he lay in the bed above her, his eyes wide with concern and a frightened look on his face. Her eyes darted around, taking in the bare white walls and simple furniture and she breathed noisily. She was not in a cave; nor was there a demon hiding in the shadows. Mamoru was not trying to kill her. It had been a dream.

_Not a dream, Usagi-chan,_ the voice insisted. _A memory._ She ignored it. There was no way something like that had happened and she'd forgotten about it.

"Usa-ko," he whispered, and she dragged her eyes from the gray carpet to his face.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I guess I must have had a bad dream." He nodded, reaching for her; hurt clouding his eyes when she flinched, cowering from him.

He pulled his hand back and sat up slowly, watching her face carefully the whole time. "It must have been some dream, Usagi-chan," he said softly. "Come back to bed?" He made it a question, and she nodded, taking in her attire as her head lowered. Her silver silk dress was missing, probably hanging carefully in Mamoru's closet, she acknowledged. In its place was a simple white t-shit, and she flushed, remembering that she hadn't been wearing much of anything beneath that dress. She tugged the shirt down as she stood, trying in vain to cover the pink silk thong she was wearing under it and wishing she'd not allowed Minako to convince her to go braless for the night.

She climbed into the bed, waiting for her body to flinch away from the arms that wound tentatively around her waist, pulling her carefully into his chest, but instead she seemed to sink tonelessly into him, shivering from cold and fear. His arms left her momentarily to pull the blanket over her, but returned instantly, one wrapping protectively around her hip, tugging her closer and the other running comfortingly through the strands of hair that brushed against her elbow.

"Tell me about your dream, Usa-ko," he murmured into her ear, his lips brushing softly against the sensitive skin. Stammering a little, she did, the images playing in her mind as she recounted them. When she came to the identity of her attacker, Mamoru's arms wrapped tightly around her.

"I would never hurt you," he vowed softly. "No one will ever hurt you as long as I'm around, but especially not me."

"I know," she whispered, surprised to realize that despite her dream, she firmly believed it. Her eyes felt heavy as she lay there, her ear pressed against the reassuring rhythm of his heartbeat, her nose filled with the scent of his skin, a comforting mixture of his soap, cologne and a scent that she couldn't define.

"Sleep," he whispered, reminding her of the night before. "I'm here to protect you." With that comforting thought, she closed her eyes and slipped into a peaceful sleep.

When she woke, the sun's rays were warming the room and Mamoru's soft breaths were fluttering her bangs gently. She smiled, remembering his promise of the night before and couldn't find it in herself to get angry that he'd undressed her. She turned her head up slightly, surprised to see that his eyes were open and he was lying there, perfectly still so as not to disturb her.

"Good morning," she whispered. He smiled.

"Good morning," he said softly, bending his head to drop a kiss on her hair. She wondered if he heard someone coming with his supersensitive hearing, but when no one entered the room after a few moments, she was forced to reevaluate her opinion. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm okay," she answered truthfully. "Thank you."

"Nothing to thank me for," he said smiling. "I get horrible dreams from time to time, too. You can return the favor one night."

"What if I'm not here?" she teased, watching curiously as a flicker of something like pain went through his eyes.

"I'll come get you," he answered quickly. She couldn't figure out why she was disappointed with that answer.

"I guess we should get up." Usagi pulled herself out of his embrace, scooting towards the edge of the bed when a tug on her scalp drew her attention back towards her bedmate.

"Your hair," he breathed. Usagi looked down, wondering what it was that grasped Mamoru's attention so fully, taking in the silver-blonde locks pooling on the bed with disinterest.

"You'll have to brush it for me," she muttered, groaning at the sheer number of tangles before she realized why he was staring. "This isn't possible," she gasped, standing in alarm.

"It's even longer than it was," he said quietly, staring at her feet, where her hair continued to pool despite the fact that she was standing. She nodded, unable to find her voice. "I guess I'll get my brush."

Usagi sat on the bed, her back to Mamoru, her hair falling heavily to the carpet, wondering how it was possible that her hair had grown overnight to such astonishing lengths. "I don't understand," she whispered, close to tears.

"I don't either, but I've learned that some things are beyond explanation," he murmured soothingly. "All we can do is cope with them as they happen."

They didn't speak as Mamoru pulled his brush slowly through her hair. Though it took nearly half an hour to detangle it, when he was finished, there was a smile on his face. "I missed your hair last night," he admitted. Usagi rolled her eyes.

"Well, you're going to be the one stuck brushing it every morning until our little game is up," she reminded him. "By then, I'm sure even you will be sick of it."

"I doubt it," he teased, dropping another kiss on the top of her head. "Let me get you some shorts to wear upstairs and I'll walk you home."

As Mamoru shuffled in his drawer for a pair of shorts, Usagi watched him quietly, her mind turning over their changed relationship. While their practical joke had really only begun when they'd both climbed, half-naked, into her bed two nights before, they'd actually crossed some kind of line before that, one she hadn't realized was there. They'd become friends sometime between the coffee and the popcorn, and she couldn't figure out where. And now, she acknowledged, they were something else.

The night before; it hadn't been a game then. There was no one around to witness what had happened, no benefit to pretending to care about her nightmare. Mamoru had comforted her because he'd wanted to, and she had drawn warmth from that comfort. She took the offered shorts in silence, her mind turning over what this could possibly mean as she slipped them on. Absently, she reached around and began braiding her hair, trying to get it out of her face. When she finished, she offered him a weak half-smile.

"Come on, Odango," he said, smiling at her in return. "Let's go see the results of your matchmaking attempts."

* * *

"She remembered?" Artemis asked curiously, watching as the famed enemies walked through the living room of the apartment, arms around one another.

"She remembered something," Luna admitted, shuddering. She hadn't wanted Usagi's first recollection to be something so brutal. She hadn't even known that such a thing had happened; it had taken all of her willpower not to break into his bedroom the night before and claw his face for what he'd done to Usagi. "It was horrible."

"What do you mean?" the white cat asked, starting at her intently.

"Her first memory was one of Mamoru when he was under Beryl's influence," she whispered. "He tried to kill her, Artemis. He was brutal and he hurt her."

"So you stopped?" he asked. She nodded.

"She woke up, thinking it was a nightmare, and he was there, holding on to her. She panicked." Luna's voice was tight. "I don't know what he said, but he convinced her to climb back into bed and held her until she fell asleep. Even then, he didn't sleep, Artemis. I'm not sure he went back to sleep all night. He just lay there, holding her and watching her sleep, like he was afraid if he closed his eyes her nightmare would come back."


	4. Something There

"It seems you were successful," Mamoru whispered as they found themselves in a strikingly familiar position. Of course, she acknowledged, two nights ago it had been she and Mamoru lying asleep while Motoki and Makoto had stared in shock.

"So it seems," she agreed. "Shall I scream?" Her eyes lit with devilment.

"Nah," he said, his face wreathed in smiles. "I know something that will freak them out more." He tiptoed across the room and settled himself under the pink bunny blanked on her bed, holding the covers aloft so that she could climb under them.

"You are so bad," she scolded as she slipped into his arms. He settled the blanket over them both and tucked her under his arm as they lay on their sides, both watching for the couple on the other bed to wake up.

"I am," he admitted. "You should probably run far and fast, Usa-ko."

"I think it's a little late for that," she teased. He really was quite wonderful when he was playful like this, she decided. A soft snore at her back drew her attention, and she shifted slightly in his arms, looking up at his face, slack and peaceful in sleep. He couldn't have gotten much more sleep than she had, she realized belatedly, closing her eyes at the thought. Within minutes, she, too was asleep.

* * *

"Why don't you try again?" Artemis asked. "She's asleep."

"But Mamoru-san's still there," Luna reminded him. "I'm hoping to catch her when he's not around – perhaps that will stir some of her memories that aren't associated with him."

"That might take weeks," Artemis grumbled. "We need at least one of them to awaken now. Why not dig for deeper memories? Ones where she hadn't yet realized who she and Mamoru-san were?"

"I could try that," she said hesitantly. Artemis growled.

"Just do it!" Luna closed her eyes.

* * *

"There you are!" Usagi spun. She knew that voice. It was Mamoru and for once he sounded pleased to see her. She found herself running towards him, her arms open before she realized that he was dressed in the same armor she'd seen him in once before. Her mind tried to pull away as her body drew closer. She tried to force herself to back away from the outstretched arms, remembering those fingers around her neck. She closed her eyes, wondering why her body refused to obey her, waiting for the blow to strike.

Instead, soft hands wrapped themselves around her waist and held her gently, lightly caressing her through the thin fabric of her gown. She rolled her eyes. Why did she wear such things in her dreams?

_Not a dream, Usagi-chan,_ the voice said again. _A memory. Remember, Usagi-chan. Please remember._

_Remember what?_ she wanted to ask – to cry out towards the receding voice, but as she opened her mouth, Mamoru lowered his.

She was nothing, then, but sensation. She existed only where their bodies touched. His hands were the only anchors she had in a world without gravity, the cool brush of his armor against her exposed upper chest the only thing that could cool her skin. His lips were fire, fire that rushed throughout her body. It was everything she'd experienced in those fleeting seconds by her front door amplified by thousands – tens of thousands and interlaced with something else – the thrill of the forbidden.

His hand trailed up her waist, resting millimeters below her breast and she gasped, drawing him closer. The dream was like nothing she'd ever remembered experiencing and she fought against the urge to open her eyes, to make sure that it was really Mamoru-baka who was igniting this in her, but she was not in control of her body. That much had been apparent from the moment that her dream self had rushed into his arms instead of cringing in terror at the sight of his armor.

Her eyes opened.

She was in her bedroom, but the sensation of the dream hadn't ended. She was still on fire, could still feel his hand resting on her ribcage. Her eyes blinked rapidly and her breath came in short, quick pants. Usagi bit back a groan and closed her eyes, trying to reclaim her dream.

The fire was at her neck, she realized belatedly, and her eyes shot open. She looked down and encountered two things that stole her breath; a head of silky black hair buried in her throat and the bare skin of her own stomach with an arm resting across it. The t-shirt was pushed up, barely covering the bottoms of her breasts.

She didn't fight it.

One dainty hand reached up, entangling itself in those short, ebony locks and the other snaked across the bare shoulder, pulling him closer. This electric feeling – it was what she'd missed in her rare experiences over recent years. It was as though every argument, every battle had been leading towards this moment and she was powerless to stop it – didn't want to think about stopping it.

The wet glide of his tongue against the skin of her neck, the feel of his hand so very close to her breast – she tugged his head back and reclaimed his mouth, drawing in her breath sharply as his fingers finally - _finally_ - reached for her breast, lightly brushing the underside with tender, reverent strokes.

"You know, I thought that when you told me to stay here last night I would be safe from walking in on this," a voice muttered darkly from across the room and Usagi nearly wept when Mamoru broke from her grasp, turning to face the voice.

"Ah – sorry, Motoki-kun," he mumbled. Usagi was delighted to see a blush warm his face. "I kind of forgot where we were for a minute there."

"More like ten minutes, but hey – who's counting?" Motoki mumbled. "You're just lucky Mako-chan is already up."

"Wait," Usagi said, remembrance finally coming to her even as Mamoru tried to discreetly lower her shirt. "What were you doing in Mako-chan's bed this morning?"

"Sleeping," Motoki said innocently, and Usagi's eyes narrowed as they met the blonde's. "I swear, Tsukino-san, I didn't touch her."

"He's lying," another voice said, and Usagi shifted her head to peek around Mamoru's shoulder to see the speaker. "He did touch me – but nothing that I objected to or that you could possibly find anything to say about, considering where you were just being touched." Makoto's eyes were gleaming as she met Usagi's and the girls shared a small smile.

"What did you expect, Usa-ko?" Mamoru murmured in her ear. The warmth of his breath gave her goosebumps and she shivered in response. "You wanted them to realize they liked each other."

"Now, Mamoru-san," Makoto said sternly from the doorway.

"Now you're in for it," Usagi whispered, delighting in the way he shuddered above her.

"There's one thing I need to know before we leave you to get back to – whatever it was you were doing," the brunette continued. Usagi giggled as he gulped loudly. "How do you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled?" he squeaked out and she nodded.

"Come on, Motoki-kun," Makoto muttered. "Let's leave them to 'explore' their feelings a bit while we go make breakfast."

When the other two left, Usagi was disappointed that Mamoru pulled away and settled himself next to her instead of continuing where they'd left off.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes. He smiled softly.

"Another dream, Usa-ko?" he was looking at her oddly, and for the first time, Usagi began to wonder how her dream had continued on that way.

"Did I…" she trailed off, unable to finish the thought. He just nodded. "I'm so sorry," she forced out, ducking her head in shame. "I was dreaming that you and I were – that we were – and when I woke up, it was still happening."

"It's okay," he reassured her. "Do you remember last night, when you said that you were afraid that we might become friends?" Usagi nodded. "I think maybe it's a little late for that."

"Why?" she said, stricken.

"I think we've passed beyond friendship – the question is now what?" he asked slowly. "Do we continue the charade and have our public 'break-up' when it's finished? Or do we take a few steps back and 'explore our feelings'?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. She hadn't really thought about her feelings – at least not the emotional ones – since she woke up from her dream.

"Maybe a night off – we both have class early tomorrow and we could probably use the sleep," he suggested. "But – if you have a nightmare, Usa-ko, I want you to call me immediately." She nodded, wondering why that seemed so disheartening. He dropped a soft kiss on her nose. "Don't look so sad, Odango Atama," he teased, bringing a smile to her face. "It's just for tonight."

"I need to finish my lab report anyway," she muttered, sticking her tongue out at him. "Go home, Baka! I'll see you tomorrow after class – say around ten?" He nodded and climbed out of the bed, disappearing from sight.

Usagi pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them forlornly. Within a few moments, her head drifted down, her face buried in her knees. Mamoru was right, of course – she'd known it, too. Things had changed between them and she wasn't sure if she was ready for this change, or if she even wanted it. Where would she be without her friend, the enemy? At least some of her efforts in her studies had come from a desire to rub the grades in his face. At least some of her efforts to become more graceful had been to prevent him from commenting on her clumsiness. At least some of her dissatisfaction with her perpetual tardiness had come from wanting to give him one less thing to tease her about.

In fact, many things she did, Usagi realized, were done, at least in part, with him in mind. She'd brushed up on her vocabulary to best him in their daily arguments at the arcade in high school. As she looked back on what she could remember of the past four years, she began to wonder what she did that didn't have some link to Mamoru. For years she'd worn her hair in the same style, but within two months of waking from her coma – two months of daily run-ins, she'd begun changing it at least once a week. Some days she would braid it, some wear it low at her nape in a single ponytail and even some days she'd wear it loose. And all – or at least part – of that was because of his incessant teasing about her hair.

Did she really want to give up their adversarial bickering to have a fleeting relationship with him and be left with nothing but real animosity when it was finished? She'd seen what had happened to Umino and Naru's friendship after their relationship had cooled – they couldn't even be in the same room with the other. She was fifteen when she realized there was no malice in Mamoru's treatment of her. Did she really want to give up the comfortable teasing and open herself up to the eventual return of their original dislike – or worse?

_What if it doesn't end, though, Usagi-chan?_ the voice whispered softly through her mind. _What if it just gets better?_

_Supposing for a moment that was even possible – do I really want that in place of what we had before?_ she asked. As usual, the voice had no answer. It went silent, as it always seemed to when she asked the hard questions of it. What good was having a conscience if it didn't answer those important problems?

It did make her think, though. What if she and Mamoru ended up together – for real? An image of herself in a billowing white gown, with flowers wreathing her head popped into her mind. Her face was so happy as she walked through a beautiful church festooned with brilliant, blood-red roses – and Mamoru was waiting for her at the other end. A tear slipped down her cheek.

No, she decided. She didn't want that if it meant she had to give up everything she'd become accustomed to for the past four years. She liked the new feelings between them – it was like nothing she'd experienced with the boyfriends she'd had in the past; they'd never ignited her that way. She'd never liked kissing her other boyfriends. It was just something she did. She'd even made Motoki kiss her once to see if it would be different with someone she really cared for, but it hadn't been anything like the electricity she felt with Mamoru. But there was still something holding her back.

There had to be more than banter and sexual attraction – what did she really know about Mamoru? Was it enough to risk losing what she had? Was getting to know him and discovering whether she could be emotionally involved with him worth the possibility of losing the old relationship?

_You care what he thinks, Usagi-chan._

_Great. Now you decide to come back._

_If you don't want to talk about Mamoru-san, perhaps you'd like to talk about that lab report?_ the voice was mocking and she narrowed her eyes.

_Fine, I'll type up the damn report,_ she grumbled. "Stupid conscience."

Usagi stood and crossed the room to her dresser, grabbing a pair of lounging pants before she looked down and realized that she was still wearing Mamoru's shirt and boxers. She wasn't planning on going anywhere, so why should she change? She was completely comfortable and she wasn't going to. She put the pants back and grabbed her laptop and her report.

Usagi walked into the living room and realized the one downside to remaining comfortable: her roommates would stare. Makoto and Motoki didn't look nearly as surprised as the others. She gave a mental shrug and settled herself on the sofa. Within minutes, she was absorbed in her work and oblivious to her surroundings.

* * *

"I thought we were trying to bring back a memory from before they knew who they were," Artemis commented, but a single look from Luna silenced him.

"I went too far back," she admitted. "It was a memory of their time together on the Moon."

"Our Princess was that bold on the Moon?" Even Artemis was shocked by this news.

"It would appear so," Luna said quietly. She looked shaken. "However, she's questioning her relationship with Mamoru-san now. She is unsure if she wants to get involved with him. How do I probe her mind further to unlock her memories without damaging her even more?"

"What do you mean, 'questioning'?" Artemis demanded.

"She is strongly inclined to pull back completely, losing what little ground they've gained in the past few days! While I might not approve of her plan, it seemed that they were close to accepting their destiny – now she wants to give it up because she doesn't want to be without their bickering."

"Can't you convince her that what they'll have in exchange is better?"

"No, I can't," Luna sighed. "What will they have, after all?"

"What are you saying, Luna?" he asked harshly. "That you agree with her? That her childish dreams are more important than the fate of the world? Just where does your loyalty lie?"

"With her," Luna whispered. "As it has in the past and always will. What do you remember of their love? Do you remember that the Princess was a very young fifteen then? That Endymion was but seventeen? That the thrill of the forbidden was the very reason they snuck off together in the first place? Their love was destined – Queen Serenity knew that even as she forbade it. Selene destroyed her Kingdom for love of Endymion and Endymion wiped out their entire civilization when she was killed. The Princess might have loved him, but it was the love of a teenager overwhelmed by emotions she couldn't understand. By sending her to Earth, the Queen was not just hoping that they would have the freedom to love, she was giving them the opportunity to be free of Selene's influence as well. As a human, instead of a Lunarian, the Princess would be free of the blood of the goddess."

"And what of the Dark Queen? Sailor Pluto warned us, remember?" Artemis asked quietly.

"What of the other Senshi? Why do we focus on Usagi-chan?" she asked.

"I will try to awaken Minako, but we have no other links with the others," he reminded her.

"Fine," Luna spat bitterly. "You awaken Minako. I will awaken Usagi-chan. And if it breaks her, I hold you responsible, Artemis of Mau."

* * *

She knew it was a dream, even as it unfolded. She sat in the arcade, surrounded by her friends. Mamoru was sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee. Motoki was standing across from him, his face taut with worry, speaking rapidly. She knew this was another one of those dreams that her conscience would call a memory, and she was determined, now that she was alone in her bed, to get the most of it, to see if there was anything in it that struck a chord with her.

Makoto looked exhausted. There were dark circles under her eyes – eyes that were haunted with a strange knowledge. Minako was no where to be found, something Usagi found strange, but Rei was there as well as Ami. Ami had a small blue device in her hand, and Usagi realized suddenly that it was a computer. There was a strange symbol on it, a heart with things coming out of it.

Though she might try to deny that the other dreams were memories, this one was too real for her to dismiss. Rei's silence, Ami's intent study of the tiny blue computer and Makoto's haunted eyes – they told a story. If she were to see her own face, what would it look like, she wondered. For that matter, why wasn't Mamoru leaning over her, making a sarcastic comment while Motoki made eyes at Makoto and where was Minako? And why were they all so quiet?

"They're all out there, then?" Makoto broke the silence. "All seven have been found."

All seven what? Usagi wanted to scream.

"Tuxedo Kamen has two, we have one and Zoisite has four," Ami confirmed. Usagi rolled the strange names over in her mind, wondering why they felt so familiar and foreign at the same time.

"We can't do anything about Tuxedo Kamen yet," Rei offered pragmatically. "But we need to get those four back from Zoisite." Usagi felt herself nodding in agreement. A scream rent through the air and the others turned to one another in shock and dismay.

"Another one?" Makoto grumbled. "We need to get out of here." The others nodded and Usagi found herself following them out the door and into a secluded alleyway.

"Moon Prism Power Make-up," she heard her voice shout. Her vision went pink for a brief minute and when she looked down after it cleared, she was wearing the same outfit from her nightmare of the night before. It was enough to startle her awake.

She sat up in her bed, unable to deny it any longer. The dreams were memories. The voice was right.

And she suddenly wondered why it spoke from the face of a black cat with a crescent moon on its forehead, and what that had to do with the phrase she'd found herself shouting.

She slipped out of her bedroom and out onto the balcony. She pulled the dream from her memory and repeated the phrase.

"Moon Prism Power Make-Up!"

With a flash of pink light and ribbons, she found herself in a form-fitting white bodysuit and a short blue skirt – she had the strangest urge to say 'fuku' when describing it.

These were definitely not dreams. Unable to figure out how to revert back to her pajamas, she raced through the apartment and to the stairway.

* * *

"She's remembered?" Artemis asked as Sailor Moon left the balcony. He and Luna were hiding behind a flowerpot, but they had witnessed Usagi's transformation in awe.

"No," Luna denied. "Not enough. She remembered transforming and just _did it_. She has no idea who she is or what it means. But she knows that they aren't dreams now."

"And she's going to confront Mamoru about them," Artemis finished, surmising Usagi's destination.

"Yes," Luna whispered.

"May Selene have mercy on him if she figures out how to use her powers before she remembers what they are for."

* * *

"Motoki, I think you should leave," Mamoru said quietly, staring at the vision in front of him. Usagi's face was cold, her eyes narrowed in fury – and her clothing and stance gave him the strangest feeling of unease. It was Usagi who stood before him, but it wasn't. Motoki nodded and sidled past the girl at the foot of Mamoru's bed.

"They aren't dreams, Mamoru-san," she whispered coldly. "I was wearing this outfit when you tried to kill me!"

"What are you saying, Usagi-chan?" he asked very calmly.

"They are memories – memories of those lost three months." Her voice was trembling, whether with rage or fear, he couldn't tell. Gone was the beautiful, soft woman he was slowly beginning to realize he cared for and in her place a warrior with icewater in her veins. "Which means that my 'dream' of you hurting me – something you swore you wouldn't do – was not a dream at all, Mamoru-san."

"Usagi-chan, why would I try to kill you?" he asked slowly.

"I don't know, Mamoru-san – why don't you tell me?" she snapped furiously, tears slipping down her face. "Why would you try to kill me, Mamo-chan?" she whispered, the fury drained from her.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I don't know why I would have done something that I don't remember ever doing, Usa-ko. But I know that I would never do that now. I couldn't." She looked up at him hopefully.

"Promise?" she asked, her voice breaking. "Do you promise that you'll never hurt me?"

"I promise, Usa-ko," he vowed pulling her to him, relieved when she collapsed into his chest instead of hitting him. He wrapped her in his arms and rubbed her back soothingly. "I promise."

"I just said the words from my dream and this outfit appeared," she mumbled. Mamoru had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, but he knew Usagi. It was better to let her ramble for a few minutes and get her to calm down. He kept rubbing her back, trying desperately not to think of how very little she had on, nor how the knee high red boots were suddenly the epitome of sexiness in his mind.

"I don't even know how to get back into my pajamas," she sobbed, rubbing her face into his bare chest. In the morning, he would worry about how this bizarre circumstance had come about. He would worry about the memories Usagi was having, particularly those that involved him trying to kill her, and how they related to the fact that she had on this bizarre outfit. For tonight, he just had to worry about getting her calmed down. She was trembling in his arms and he was terrified that she might have broken something key in her mind with these memories.

"We'll worry about it tomorrow, Usa-ko," he murmured, leaning down to press a soft kiss against her temple. "I'm going to go tell Motoki to sleep on the sofa – you're staying here with me tonight, okay?"

She nodded, looking up at him with wide, hysterical eyes. Without a conscious thought, Mamoru bent and swept her knees over his arm and wrapped the other one tightly against her waist and carried her to his bed, where he set her down gently.

"Stay right here, okay?" When she nodded again, he crossed the room and gestured to the waiting Motoki.

"Is everything okay, Mamoru-kun?" he asked in an urgent whisper.

"I don't think so," Mamoru answered honestly. "She needs to stay here tonight, Motoki. Could you sleep on the sofa or go crash with Makoto-chan?"

"Are you sure it's safe for you to be alone with her?" Motoki asked in all seriousness.

"What do you mean?" Mamoru responded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Look – I wanted to tell you guys immediately. I begged Tsukino-san to let me tell you, but he and Aino-san and Hino-san and even Mizuno-san insisted that I keep my mouth shut unless it was a life or death situation. As far as I can tell, it might be if I leave you alone with her."

"What are you talking about?" Mamoru demanded. He looked impatiently back at the open doorway and shook his head in frustration. "Never mind – you can tell me in the morning. I am quite positive that I'm perfectly safe alone with Usagi-chan."

"If you're sure," Motoki said, walking away. Mamoru groaned internally. His best friend had just given him one more thing to worry about tomorrow. Tonight, his only concern was Usagi. She was close – so close – to her breaking point, and something she claimed he'd done to her while wearing black armor was at least part of it. That he could picture this armor, and himself in it without any trouble at all, worried him. He shrugged it off. It was another thing to think about tomorrow.

He joined Usagi in his bedroom, watching her from the doorway. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and her head was buried in them, her arms wrapped around the red boots that were making his mouth go dry. "Let's get you changed, Usa-ko," he offered gently, walking slowly towards the bed as her head lifted. Her wide blue eyes watched him warily and he winced internally.

"How?" she whispered.

"I know you probably don't want to change in front of me right now, but you'll probably need my help getting out of that white thing," he reasoned. She nodded slowly and he pulled another t-shirt and a pair of shorts out of his drawer for her to wear. He had a sudden vision of looking in this drawer in a few weeks and being forced to go to her apartment in order to find his clothing. He wasn't entirely opposed to the idea. He finished his slow trek to his bed and gestured that she should stand, looking carefully at the uniform she was wearing to see the best way to remove it. The skirt appeared to be attached to the white bodysuit, and he realized that there were really only two options for removal, and he prayed that option one, removing it from the top down by stretching it over her shoulders and down her torso, was feasible. He reached for her, wincing internally as she flinched back, and grasped the neckline of the bodysuit. It didn't budge.

Now that he was this close, he could see the details of the uniform, and a sparkle caught his attention. "Usagi, what's that?" he asked, pointing a heavy-looking pink and gold brooch on her bow. Usagi followed his finger and she gasped.

"My brooch," she whispered unevenly. "It was in the bag of things from the hospital – when – you know…" He nodded. Motoki's words came back to him and he wished, suddenly, that he had let the other man talk before he dismissed him. Usagi stared at the brooch in growing horror before a light seemed to dawn on her face. "I know what to do," she said confidently. He wasn't at all positive he'd ever heard he speak that way before, though it felt familiar all the same,

She reached for the brooch and tugged softly. Mamoru was blinded by a brilliant flash of pink light. When it cleared, Usagi was sitting on his bed, wearing the same t-shirt and shorts she'd gone home in. The brooch was held loosely in her hands and she was staring at it in revulsion.

"I hate this thing and I don't even know why," she muttered darkly.

"We'll worry about it tomorrow, Usa-ko," he whispered comfortingly. "May I join you?"

Usagi nodded and moved towards the wall, wriggling to settle herself under the covers. Mamoru climbed in beside her, opening his arms to let her snuggle into them if she wanted to.

She did.

* * *

"That went rather better than I'd expected," Luna muttered dryly, recounting the incident to Artemis. "Mamoru-san, even without his memories, is quite good at handling Usagi-chan."

"Perhaps you should leave her alone for the night," Artemis suggested diplomatically, as though he hadn't been pressuring her earlier. She looked at him scathingly.

"I'd like to get some sleep, Artemis. Perhaps you should watch over your mistress," she added darkly before she settled herself into the nook between two flower pots and closed her eyes resolutely in a deliberate attempt to ignore him. Artemis grumbled to himself as he went to find his own sleeping place.


	5. Memories

**A/N: Mature content ahead. Yes, I mean scenes of a slightly smutty nature.**

Usagi settled herself comfortably into the now familiar circle of Mamoru's arms. She was starting to wonder what horrors she would see when she closed her eyes, and wondering how she could possibly face it if he weren't there. It was very well for her to argue in the daylight that she didn't want to change her old relationship with Mamoru, but in the darkness – she didn't want to imagine sleeping without him.

"Mamoru-san?" she whispered, hoping he'd not yet fallen asleep.

"Yeah?" he mumbled tiredly.

"I think I know what I want now," she said, hoping that after the events of the past half hour he wouldn't reject her.

"What's that, Usagi-chan?" he murmured, dropping a gentle kiss on her head. She turned her face up to look into his heavy-lidded eyes. A soft smile curved the corners of his lips, and his eyes were gentle, affectionate.

"You," she whispered, pressing her lips against his. He pulled back.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his eyes fully open, staring at her intently. She nodded. She was definitely sure. Mamoru studied her face for long minutes and Usagi forced herself to return his stubborn gaze. When he lowered his mouth to hers, she was ready.

The fire consumed her again and she welcomed it. It warmed the dark places in her that had been frozen upon the realization that her dreams were memories and then spread.

As Mamoru's lips trailed down her neck, the heat stopped warming her and became slowly torturous. It spread through her whole body and then contracted, centering itself in the bottom of her stomach. She knew that if she didn't find a way to quench it, it would consume her entirely, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes where she lay. She reached for the hem of her shirt, tugging it up and over her head, breaking his lips' tremulous hold on her neck in the process.

"Usa-ko?" he asked, staring intently into her eyes. She smiled reassuringly and trailed one hand from his back to her own chest, cupping her breast up towards him.

"It's okay to look at them, Mamoru," she whispered teasingly. "I promise I won't throw a shoe at you." He returned her smile and let his gaze drop, his eyes lingering on the pale mounds that swelled from her ribcage in naked lust. His hand found its way towards hers, covering it over her breast and dragging her fingers towards the peak, pushing them to pinch the erect nipple. She gasped.

"Are you going to follow my hand wherever it goes?" she taunted, dragging the other one from his back and running it down her stomach slowly, slipping it under the waistband of her borrowed shorts.

"Whatever my lady wishes," he whispered thickly, swallowing hard as he propped himself on one arm at her side, allowing the other one to slide sensually down her arm until his fingers were resting over hers on her clit, stroking slowly.

"I've never been able to get myself there with my hand alone," she admitted, a faint blush warming her cheeks. "I've tried quite a few times, too."

Usagi watched in heady delight as his eyes narrowed and darkened and his bottom lip was suddenly sucked between his teeth. "Maybe I can show you how?" he offered.

She smiled and nodded, quickly slipping her hand from under his and resting it gently over his, pressing his middle finger down onto the tiny bundle of nerves, her arousal spiking at the slightly rough texture of his finger against her.

"Pay attention, Usa," he breathed, lowering his head until his lips were at her ear. She turned her head, putting her lips within an inch of his, silently begging him to kiss her. He complied, fusing his lips with hers, letting his finger twitch ever so slightly as he did. Usagi gasped and he took advantage of her open mouth to deepen the kiss, his tongue darting in to duel with hers. His finger began to move in small circles, slowly applying more pressure as his mouth continued to ravage hers and Usagi found herself gasping for breath under the maelstrom of sensation that was washing over her. She pulled her mouth away, taking in deep gulps of fresh air even as she released a moan, her hand tightening over his, her other hand reaching up to clutch the silky hair at the base of his head.

His lips seemed to find a new home on her neck, and he trailed little kisses from just below her earlobe to the juncture of her shoulder, licking and nibbling his way down her neck, making her arch up into him, pressing her breasts into his bare chest. The friction wasn't enough and she reached up, pulling him down onto her. His weight was what she wanted, and she wrapped her arm around his back, trying to pull him closer.

"Are you paying attention, Usa?" he whispered in her ear. "Or am I going to have to show you again?" His fingers picked up the tempo and she felt herself tense, so close to orgasm that she almost couldn't bear it.

"No," she admitted on a gasp. "Please," she managed between pants.

"No, what?" he teased, stilling his fingers and looking down at her.

"No, I'm not paying attention," she ground out, pushing his hand down again in an effort to find the friction she didn't just want, she _needed_.

"Nope," he said with a smile, pulling his hand from beneath her borrowed shorts and bringing it up to cup her breast instead. "I think I'll wait until you can focus on the lesson again."

Usagi glared up at him before deciding that this could be okay, too. She slipped both hands around his waist, slipping her fingers under the waistband of his shorts and pulling them down, using her feet to get them completely off and watching in delight as his eyes widened in surprise.

"What's wrong, Mamoru-baka?" she teased against his ear, her tongue darting out, tasting the salty texture of the skin below his earlobe.

"Absolutely nothing," he answered, his hands reaching down to remove hers as well before he settled comfortably beneath her legs. She smiled even as she thrust her hips up, rubbing herself against the erection pressing into her. He gasped and ground himself into her, reaching down to take himself in hand and rub the head of his erection between her labia, brushing against her clit, causing them both to moan. He repeated the action, the tempo increasing and Usagi's muscles tensed again.

She tilted her hips up slightly, trying to make him slip and he froze. "Hold on a second, Odango," he muttered, reaching into his nightstand. A few moments later the annoying safety issues were taken care of and Usagi wrapped her legs around Mamoru's waist. He thrust inside of her, pushing until he reached the hilt and froze at her startled gasp of pleasure. Usagi was tired of waiting on him to realize she wasn't as fragile as he seemed to think.

She ground her hips against him, rubbing in circles to achieve her required friction, tossing her head back, unaware of Mamoru watching her with unabashed fascination for a moment before reaching down and continuing his earlier ministrations to the super-sensitive bundle of nerves where their bodies were joined. She felt her inner walls convulse a moment before the orgasm washed over her, sending her entire body to into a boneless state as she shattered into millions of pieces. She was vaguely aware of Mamoru beginning to move inside of her as she slowly came back together.

Usagi wrapped her legs and arms tightly around him as he continued to thrust, gaining speed as he lost his vaunted control, and she wondered if he would ever be so wild outside of the bedroom. She smiled as she felt his muscles tense between her legs and he suddenly froze, his hips bucking uncontrollably. He breathed heavily against her ear, and she smiled, stroking his back as he leaned down to kiss her fiercely.

"That good?" she teased.

"Oh, yeah – but you're going to need another lesson," he replied. Usagi yawned tiredly. She wasn't afraid of sleep now; she knew that no matter how bad her nightmare might be, Mamoru would be there next to her to keep her safe. She smiled.

"Sleepy, Usa?" he asked, rolling off her and tucking her beneath his arm. She nodded. "Go to sleep, then. You have class in three hours." She groaned and debated walloping him with a pillow, but she drifted off before she could.

* * *

"Mako-chan, wake up," Motoki whispered urgently, shaking the tall brunette, relatively certain that he was taking his life into his own hands. She blinked her bright green eyes at him and stared when she realized what was going on.

"Where's Usagi-chan?" she demanded.

"She had a nightmare. She's with Mamoru-kun now," he explained. "That's not why I'm here, though. I have to ask you something important."

She struggled to free herself of the covers and motioned for him to sit next to her against her headboard. "What's wrong?"

"Do you have any memories of what happened to you when you were in that accident a few years ago?" She stared at him and shook her head. Motoki took a deep breath and let it out on a sigh. "There's something I think you should know, Mako-chan. I was the one that found you all."

"I knew that, Motoki-kun – what does that have to do with you waking me up in the middle of the night?" She stared at him, irritation growing on her face – he swore he could feel the static electricity in the air growing by the minute. Of course, he acknowledged silently, it could just be his imagination.

"There's something about it that I never told you – any of you," he began. "The other girls' parents made me promise not to unless it was a life or death situation, and when Usagi-chan showed up the way she did tonight, I knew that the time had come."

"You're scaring me," she admitted, trying to read his face for clues about what he was going to say.

"You all appeared out of nowhere that day," he explained. "There was a huge flash of pink light and then suddenly there you all were, in a huge crater in the street. I came out to see what was going on and found you lying there and suddenly things started to make sense. When you were unconscious, I could see past the glamour that hid your identities and see the people behind the uniforms."

"Uniforms?" she repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"What do you know about the Sailor Senshi?" he asked. She appeared to think about it for a minute before answering.

"They were the ones who fought those monsters everyone said had overtaken the town," she said slowly. "We were told that we'd probably been involved in some kind of battle between them and the monsters. What does this have to do with Usagi-chan's nightmare? Did she remember something?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But when she showed up in our room tonight, she wasn't Usagi-chan – she was Sailor Moon."

"What are you trying to say?"

"That's what I saw, Mako-chan," he said softly. "You and your friends were the Sailor Senshi. Usagi was Sailor Moon. You were Sailor Jupiter."

"I'm not amused, Motoki-kun," she said threateningly.

"I'm not joking," he insisted. "Mamoru was Tuxedo Kamen – but I knew that, anyway."

"And the others?" she demanded, her hand gripping his tightly as she tried to wrap her mind around what was being said.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I'd never seen them before – not that I can recall. They were wearing a uniform, I think. Gray pants and jackets with different colored trim."

"For some reason, that sounds familiar – like I should know that uniform," she breathed silently. "You say Usagi-chan showed up in your room as Sailor Moon tonight?"

"She did – Mamoru seemed to take it pretty calmly, actually. He just told me to leave the room and when I tried to find out if she remembered anything he said we'd talk about it in the morning." Motoki shook his head sadly.

"I wish I could remember, Motoki-kun," she said softly, resting against him.

"You're not mad that I kept this from you?" he insisted, looking down at her head on his shoulder.

"Not really. Usagi-chan's father can be kind of scary, and if Hino-san was involved, too – well, I'd be terrified to tell me, too," she admitted. "Sailor Jupiter?"

"Sailor Jupiter," he confirmed. "I think we should get everyone together tomorrow and talk about it."

"I agree," she said.

* * *

"So, what is your plan now, Artemis?" Luna asked scathingly. She'd woken immediately upon sensing what had happened between Mamoru and her charge and was ready to blame everything on her partner.

"We'll have to tell them," he said quietly. "We might not be able to restore their memories, but we'll have to tell them."

"I don't know what good it will do," Luna began, but a scream cut her off – a scream coming from the street below them.

"You don't think…" Artemis started.

"The Dark Queen?" Luna finished. "Yes, I am afraid I do." The cats jumped off the balcony and made their way to the street below. By the time they arrived, there was nothing left of the victim but a few scraps of clothing and a pile of bloody, fleshy chunks.

"It has to be her," she muttered quietly, staring at the body – or what was left of it.

"We have to wake them," Artemis insisted. Luna nodded.

"I can try to restore their memories, so long as they will let me in," Luna said quietly. "We'll try tomorrow. What about the others?"

"We'll have to try to exclude them," Artemis said.

* * *

"There's something that Motoki-kun needs to talk to us about," Makoto said. Usagi was comfortably snuggled in Mamoru's lap on the reclining chair in the girls' living room. Her eyes darted around the room. Motoki and Makoto were standing in front of the television, and Ami, Rei and Naru were sitting on the sofa and Minako was lying on the floor. The others were standing around.

As Motoki stood and told his story, Usagi stared at him, wondering if that's why she felt so much stronger today than she had the day before.

"What about us?" Kunzite asked, and Usagi shuddered a bit at the voice. It was the first time she could recall meeting the silver-haired man, but she wasn't positive she liked him.

"I'm sorry," Motoki said quietly, "but I hadn't seen you four before, nor did I know who you were."

"They were once the Shitennou, the most trusted guardians of the Prince of the Golden Kingdom of Earth," a female voice said. Usagi looked up – she knew that voice. It was the voice of her conscience. "They were seduced by the Princess of the Pyrite Kingdom and turned on their Prince. They led the charge on the Moon Kingdom against Queen Serenity – a charge that was held off for three days by the power of the Sailor Senshi. One by one, the Senshi fell at the hands of the Shitennou."

"Who are you?" Usagi asked curiously.

"_Where_ are you?" Kunzite added. A small black cat jumped onto the low table, a white one joined her. Everyone in the room turned their attention to the two felines.

"Right here," the cat said. No one seemed as surprised as they'd expect at the appearance of the cats. Four pens in different colors appeared on the table and upon seeing them, Usagi stood and left the room, returning a moment later with her pink brooch, which she laid next to the other items.

"Motoki-san is right," the white cat confirmed. "You five are the Sailor Senshi. Mamoru-san, we don't know anything about your transformation into Tuxedo Kamen. You were not a part of the Moon Kingdom and were never in our charge."

"Then who was I?" he demanded.

"I should think it was fairly obvious," Kunzite drawled sardonically. "If we were the guardians of the Prince of Earth, and the Senshi protected the Moon, then you must belong to us – our Prince."

"Kunzite is right," Luna said. "You are Prince Endymion of the Golden Kingdom – and the lover of Princess Serenity of the Moon, heiress to the Silver Millennium and bearer of the Ginzuishou."

"No offense to your Princess," Mamoru cut in, looking annoyed, "but she'll have to find someone else."

"Oh?" Artemis asked. Usagi wasn't sure, but she thought the cat was smiling sarcastically.

"Yes," Mamoru said. "I'm with Usa-ko and your Princess will have to find someone else." The cats laughed.

"Usagi-chan is the Princess," Luna said quietly.

"Oh," Mamoru said quietly.

"Wait – Moon Princess?" Usagi repeated. "You expect me to believe that I'm the Moon Princess?"

"Yes," Luna said simply. "I can restore your memories, Usagi-chan, and I can attempt to restore the memories of the other girls, but I'm afraid that my powers will be useless on the rest of you. The Dark Queen is coming, and it is imperative that the Senshi be prepared for her arrival."

"Wait just a minute!" Makoto said across the cat. "What if I don't want my memories restored? What if I don't want to be a Senshi?"

"We cannot force you, of course," Artemis said quietly. "But can you really stand around and watch, helpless, as those you love are attacked? Will you leave Naru-san and Motoki-san defenseless against an enemy they cannot fight, knowing that you have the power and ability to stop her?"

"When you put it that way," Makoto muttered bitterly.

"Your pens are here if you choose to use them," Luna said diplomatically. "I am willing to attempt restoration of your memories at any time. Usagi-chan, I'm sorry, but you don't have a choice in the matter. As the Princess, it is necessary that you have the knowledge to use the Ginzuishou if it is needed."

"Now see here," Mamoru said angrily. "Usa doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to. No talking cat is going to force her into anything."

"She's right," Usagi whispered, her heart swelling at his immediate defense. "I can't leave Naru-chan defenseless. I can't leave my family, or her family, or Rei-chan's grandfather without protection – not if I have the power in me to save them."

"If you're sure, Usa," he offered, wrapping her tightly in his arms. "I'm proud of you," he added in her ear and she felt herself flush with pleasure.

"I'm with Usagi-chan," Makoto said, reaching for the green pen in front of her. "Wherever she goes, I follow."

"Me, too," Ami added quietly, her fingers grasping the blue pen on the table.

"Count me in," Minako said with a wide smile, her hand wrapping around the orange pen.

Rei stared at the others for a long, tense moment. Usagi felt herself stop breathing, waiting to see if Rei would join them in their mission or not. The raven-haired miko nodded silently and pulled the red pen towards herself, staring at it in disgust and resignation. Usagi reached for her brooch, determination filling her. She slid off Mamoru's lap and held the brooch above her head.

"Moon Prism Power Make-Up!" she shouted, shuddering as the pink light enveloped her again. Distantly, she heard the cries of her companions.

"Mercury Power Make-Up!"

"Mars Power Make-Up!"

"Jupiter Power Make-Up!"

"Venus Power Make-Up!"

When the pink glow faded and her eyes adjusted, Usagi stared in wonderment at her friends. Save the variations in color, their uniforms were identical to hers. They had actually _fought_ in these short skirts?

"Mamoru-san?" Luna said, staring at the black-haired man. He returned her gaze curiously. She sighed. "I had hoped that Usagi-chan's transformation would trigger your own – it seemed to work that way in the past."

"I don't know – there's something there, but I can't figure out what it is," he admitted quietly. He looked stricken, and Usagi was overwhelmed with an urge to comfort him, to take that haunted, useless look out of his eyes and bring the smile back, but he stood before she could act on it. "I think I'm going to go lie down for a bit. I'll talk to you later, Usagi-chan." He strode quickly towards the door, his roommates, including Motoki, following him, leaving six young women to stare after them in confusion and not a little hurt.

"Usagi-chan, shall we try to restore your memories?" Luna asked quietly, and Usagi nodded.


	6. Friction

When Usagi awoke from Luna's attempts at memory restoration, the other girls seemed to have come to a decision.

"We want you to try to do us, too," Minako declared with a forced heartiness. Usagi shook her head. Within her was not only the memory of how to fight, but also the memories she hadn't recovered from her time as the Princess in her past life. And the Princess knew how to wield the Ginzuishou.

"I'll do it," she said, surprised and yet not to hear the strength and confidence in her own voice. "Luna doesn't have the energy – and I want you to remember it all." They looked to Minako, as though instinctively recognizing that she was their leader. When Minako nodded, the other girls joined in.

"Moon Healing Escalation!" Usagi shouted, raising her brooch over her head. She could see their eyes filling with tears as their memories were restored, a deep, dark knowledge filling up the light places on their faces and she cringed. She would never have wanted this for them. She would have fought, and died, alone if it meant sparing them this torture.

She watched as Minako's face fell, horror crossing it before she burst into tears, and Usagi was afraid she knew what image was playing in the other girl's mind; the knowledge that Kunzite had been the one to slaughter her past self as though he had relished the task. Rei's eyes filled with a cold fire and Ami seemed to ice over. Surprisingly, Makoto seemed to take her memories the most calmly. Usagi supposed that it was the knowledge that her current lover had no part in her past life's destruction that gave her the courage to face it.

She lowered her hands, affixing her brooch back to her bow and waited.

"Do we kill them now or later?" Rei broke the silence, flames flickering in her hands.

"We don't kill them at all, Sailor Mars," Usagi said decisively. "You cannot punish them for what they did in the past life."

"What about what they did in this one?" Ami replied, and Usagi was surprised at the tone.

"They were corrupted by Beryl – they didn't know what they were doing, Sailor Mercury," Makoto argued. Usagi was relieved to see that at least one of her Senshi was on her side.

"That's easy for you to say, Princess," Sailor Venus spat angrily. "Endymion died protecting you! He never tried to kill you!" Usagi gulped, pushing the memories back down.

"Actually, yes he did," she whispered. "When Kunzite took him to the Dark Kingdom, Beryl corrupted him as well," she explained. "It was worse than when he was just evil Tuxedo Kamen. He was Endymion – in full armor. And while Tuxedo Kamen had tried to fight her influence, Endymion was completely her servant. He bound me in his black roses and electrocuted me. Then he kicked me, raised me off my feet by my throat – and raised his sword against me."

The Senshi had fallen silent as she explained and she didn't dare look up to see their reactions.

"Why didn't you say anything, Usagi-chan?" Sailor Venus asked, and Usagi could hear the tears in the other girl's voice.

"When? You – all of you – were dead then," she whispered. "All I wanted was for it to be over, then. Endymion was dead – even after he tried to kill me, I was able to restore him and he died protecting me. Like before. Only this time I was strong enough to face Metalia without him."

"What exactly happened, Sailor Moon?" Rei asked quietly.

"I became Serenity," she explained. "And I suddenly knew how to beat her. I felt you all there, lending me your strength even though you were all dead. And when she was gone, I was so tired. I had nothing left – I had given it all to the Ginzuishou and there was nothing left for me. And I just wished – I wished that you would all come back and that we could sit at the arcade together and drink a milkshake. I wanted us all to be normal. I didn't want to remember any of it – any of us. I even hoped that Mamoru wouldn't remember, so that way if he fell in love with me, he would really be falling in love with Usagi and not Princess Serenity – and it worked."

"We all woke up in the hospital after a two-week coma because you made that wish, Usagi-chan," Ami said reprovingly. "Was it worth it?"

"We had four years of being completely normal, Ami-chan," Makoto reminded her. "I think it was worth it. If I hadn't, I would never have allowed myself to fall in love with Motoki-kun. I would have had all these memories of Nephrite clogging things up."

"Usagi-chan," another voice cut in, and Usagi spun. She had completely forgotten that Naru was in the room until she saw the tears pouring from the green eyes. "Do you mean that he is Nephrite?" And suddenly Usagi recalled why Naru would be crying over this. This was why she and Umino had never quite managed to work out: Nephrite. Nephrite who had lied to her, used her, and, ultimately, loved her.

"Yes, Naru-chan," she whispered. "And I'll find some way to make him remember you, too."

"Wait – Naru and Nephrite?" Makoto asked, her eyes wide. Usagi nodded. Makoto reached down and wrapped the shorter girl in her embrace, stroking the red hair. "If Usagi-chan can't find a way to make him remember, I'll kick him around until he remembers whatever it was he did to you. If he hurt you, he will pay!"

"He protected her, Mako-chan," Usagi said, a smile crossing her features as she remembered that day. "He gave up his life to save hers."

"Under Beryl's control?" Minako cut in.

"Yes, Minako-chan. As a general of the Dark Kingdom, Nephrite sacrificed his life to one of Zoisite's youma to protect Naru-chan," Rei confirmed. The slight glitter of tears in her eyes told Usagi that she, too, finally understood fully how much he must have cared for Naru.

"So – what do you say we get out of these uniforms and veg in front of the TV?" Makoto suggested and the others nodded their assent.

"You guys go ahead," Usagi said. "I need to check on Mamoru."

She looked down, noticing for the first time that the cats had curled up in her favorite chair, sound asleep. She smiled fondly and reached down to stroke the ears of the black one. "I've missed you, Luna," she mumbled to softly for the others to hear. "But I guess you've always been with me, haven't you? You're a lot harder to ignore when you're inside my head, you know."

* * *

"Why can't I remember?" Mamoru growled for what Motoki was certain was the fiftieth time. "Usa is going to fight monsters and I can't remember how to help her! I can't even remember being in love with her – in two different lifetimes!"

"Well, I don't know that you would want to remember what your relationship was like in this one," Motoki mumbled. "Yeah, the rags always said that Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon had some kind of 'thing' going on, but you always denied it. You called her hot but said she was too flaky for your tastes – actually," he said, memory washing over him. "HA! You said she reminded you too much of Usagi-chan!"

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Mamoru muttered darkly, "Considering she _was_ Usa the whole time. Was I really so dense?"

"You have to understand something, Mamoru-kun – you and Usagi-chan didn't get along. Before the 'accident', there were times I really worried about you. It was like you became this completely different person around her. I could tell you were attracted to her, but even when she wasn't around, you had nothing but negative things to say about her. You were almost cruel on several occasions."

"But I thought that cat said that I was in love with her?" Mamoru asked, confused. Motoki shrugged.

"Actually, the cat said that your past self had been in love with her past self – I don't know if you ever realized who that past self was. You disappeared for about three weeks – when you came back, well, I wasn't entirely honest with the girls. You weren't dressed as Tuxedo Kamen. You were wearing armor." Motoki shook his head as something seemed to flash in Mamoru's eyes.

"Black armor," he muttered, almost to himself. "She said I was wearing black armor. I _did_ try to kill her."

"Wait – what are you talking about?" Motoki demanded.

"Usa had a dream a few days ago – I was wearing black armor and I tried to kill her," Mamoru explained. "I saw the armor in my head as she described it – I knew what it looked like. She came in here last night, as Sailor Moon, because she realized that it hadn't been a dream."

Motoki took one look at the future med student and forced him down to his bed. He didn't hear Usagi come into the room, but he heard her words clearly.

"You were brainwashed, Mamoru. You didn't know what you were doing. And as soon as you realized it, you died to protect me from the one who brainwashed you."

"That's where he disappeared to?" Motoki demanded, looking at his 'little sister' with wide eyes. "He switched sides?"

"No – he was captured and tortured until there was nothing left but an empty shell of who he was. Beryl took advantage of that and filled him up with negative energy to turn him against me," she explained softly. Mamoru was staring at her in shock. "Beryl was his betrothed in the past life. He was going to marry her to secure his father's kingdom. And then he met me."

"Love at first sight?" Mamoru asked shakily, and Motoki felt his own knees buckle. This was his Usagi-chan, but it wasn't. This young woman was strong, powerful and confident and – regal.

"Not at all, actually," Usagi said with a rueful smile. "As I recall, we got along about as well as the proverbial cat and dog. But in addition to marrying you off to Beryl, your father was trying to forge relations with the Moon, and he'd sent you as an ambassador. You were stuck on the Moon for quite a few months."

"So what happened?" Motoki was surprised when he realized the question had come from him, but Mamoru just nodded. Usagi joined them on the bed, sitting at the foot of it like a storyteller – which he supposed she was.

"We were having another of our forced outings when I slipped – my shoes were always doing that. I wasn't quite the klutz back then," she said, shaking a finger at both of them. "You caught me, Mamoru." Her face softened, and Motoki could tell that her memories of the event were fond.

"It was the first time we'd ever touched, and we both jumped back, surprised. And then we both reached our hands for the other, like this," she said, reaching across towards Mamoru and holding her hands up, palms facing Mamoru. Motoki watched in fascination as Mamoru pressed his palms against the delicate hands of Usagi and their fingers locked around the other's hand.

"What happened?" Mamoru asked.

"You leaned down and kissed me," she admitted, a smile on her face. "Of course, Kunzite chose that moment to appear with Venus and they got us apart pretty quickly. We kept up the act for everyone else – the two spoiled royal brats who couldn't stand to be in a room with one another, but we would sneak out at night and go for long walks together. The first time we made love, Venus later told me she was certain that she heard the Heavens themselves singing."

"I was engaged to someone and we were carrying on a secret affair behind her back?" Mamoru asked indignantly, as though appalled that his former self had been so dishonorable.

"As was I," Usagi admitted. "I was engaged to a young man from a different system. My mother was trying to unite the Sol system with the rest of the galaxy. He was the prince of a planet called Kinmoku. My Senshi were also engaged to different men of various systems."

"So we had a fling?" Mamoru looked disgusted, and Motoki could understand why. It wasn't in his friend's nature to accept infidelity, especially from himself – he probably felt it cheapened his relationship with the former Princess that their love had begun in sin.

"No," Usagi denied. "We fell in love. Rumors made their way back to the Earth, and reached Beryl's ear. She convinced your father to send her to the Moon. When she arrived," Usagi looked away as she spoke, "she was told that you were in the stables and walked in to discover us in a delicate situation."

"I take it that didn't go over so well," Mamoru asked sarcastically.

"She returned home, unaware that her mother had been corrupted by the evil that had come from the sun. She allowed herself to be corrupted by the same evil, and used it to corrupt your guardians. They led her attack on the Moon. She tried to kill me. You stepped in front of her blade. I cried as I watched you bleed out your life on the steps of my palace."

"Motoki, could you give us a few moments?" Mamoru said thickly, his arms reaching for the petite blonde at the foot of his bed. Motoki nodded gratefully and slipped from the room. As fascinating as the past love between Usagi and Mamoru was as a story, he didn't want to witness it live.

* * *

"What happened then, Usa?" he asked softly, and she knew she couldn't lie to him.

"I picked up your sword," she whispered softly. "And I plunged it into my chest." She watched tears fall from his eyes.

"Why?" he asked brokenly, clearly amazed at this newest revelation.

"Because you were my life, then." She knew the words were too simple to fully explain so she tried again. "I was a Princess; pampered, worshipped. You never treated me that way. You made me believe that I was as strong as Jupiter and as powerful as Venus. That I could be as smart as Mercury and as wise as Mars. My entire existence had been an endless stream of duties and coddling and you took me out of that world. I was fifteen and I couldn't imagine a life without you. Beryl was destroying my kingdom around me, and all I could see was you."

"I just can't imagine you doing that," he whispered. She laughed.

"I didn't – not this time. Princess Serenity might have been powerless, but I wasn't," she said proudly. "You died as I watched and I knew that this time, no matter what, I would destroy her. She had taken you from me twice, but I could not let her win. And I didn't."

"Why didn't anyone remember?" he asked and she snuggled closer to his chest, allowing herself to bask in his presence.

"Because I didn't want them to," she replied, her voice stronger than it had been since Motoki left the room. "I wanted my friends to have normal lives – and you, too. I didn't want you to love me because I was Serenity, or even because I was Sailor Moon and you were Tuxedo Kamen. I wanted to give you the choice to love me as Usagi. I wanted to let Mamoru make up his own mind, free of Endymion's influence. And I didn't want to live knowing who you were and knowing that as Mamoru there was very little chance of that happening. It was better that none of us remember."

"I don't know what I feel, Usa," he said softly against her hair. "I know that you're telling the truth – I can feel it. But I still don't know what I feel for you. Even after last night."

"I know," she admitted, fighting back tears. This was the pain she had tried to spare herself when she made that wish; the pain of knowing that without Endymion's influence she might never make Mamoru fall in love with her. "I want you to be free to make your own choices, Mamoru."

"What if I don't choose you?" She stiffened in his arms, her blood running cold through her veins.

"Then you don't," she whispered. "I will not force this on you."

"Did the cat restore their memories?" he asked and she shook her head.

"I did." He kissed her head again and slowly detangled his arms from her body.

"I'm so proud of you, Usagi-chan," he said, standing, leaving her sitting on the bed and wondering what happened to Usa-ko and Usa. "But I still need time to figure out what I think and feel about all of this."

She climbed out of his bed, wondering if this would be the last time she would ever be allowed in it and stood next to him. "I understand, Mamoru. I told you, I've only ever wanted you to make up your own mind." She was surprised when he wrapped his arms securely around her and drew her into his chest, his hands rubbing her back gently, his lips pressing themselves against the top of her head.

"I do care about you, Usa," he whispered into her hair. "Never doubt that. But this is a lot to take in." She nodded, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill. No matter what he decided, she would not use that emotional blackmail on him. "I know it's only Monday, but do you have plans on Friday night?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Not that I know of," she murmured.

"See if you can get rid of your roommates and I'll make dinner for you. We can curl up on the sofa together and watch a movie," he said. She smiled.

"I think I can manage that," she offered. "I'll go now, Mamoru." She pulled herself free, reveling in the feeling of his arms clinging to her for as long as possible, until she was no longer within reach, and then falling limply to his sides.

She turned, ready to leave the room, when one of his arms slid around her waist and pulled her back into his chest, bringing her in immediate contact with a surprisingly aroused Mamoru. "Don't I get a good-bye kiss?" he whispered seductively in her ear and she smiled ruefully.

"I don't know – do you really think you deserve one, Baka?" she teased. His hands moved from her waist to her breasts and she sucked in her breath quickly.

"I don't know, Odango," he said softly, his lips against her ear. "Do I?"

"If I say no, what will you do?" Usagi leaned back into his chest, arching her shoulders to let him trail a line of kisses down her neck, his hands seductively kneading her breasts.

He dropped his hands and removed his lips from her neck. "Nothing," he said, and she could hear the smirk in his voice. She laughed, despite the frustration soaring through her body over his apparent desertion.

"Then, I guess you don't get one," she laughed, dashing from the room before he could do anything else to convince her stay. As tempting as the thought was, she preferred not to repeat the night before until he made up his mind – one way or another. She wasn't stupid enough to think that even if he decided he didn't love her that she'd be able to resist for long, but at least she could do her best to stay out of a bedroom that had him in it until Friday. She slipped into her apartment and locked the door securely behind her.

"I take it that didn't go very well?" Makoto asked curiously from the living room.

"It went about like I expected it would, actually," Usagi answered, looking around for the rest of her roommates. "Where is everyone?"

"Well, apparently, Nephrite and Naru-chan had plans to meet at the library and work on a class project together. Rei decided to get revenge on Jadeite for something he doesn't remember doing to her on the Moon – something about whipped cream and rope. I didn't ask for details. And Ami and Minako are hiding down in the coffee shop in the desperate hope that Zoisite and Kunzite won't find them there because neither of them has any idea what to say to them now," Makoto finished slyly.

"Let me guess – you told them exactly where to find them?" Usagi asked, laughing. Makoto nodded. "And Motoki is upstairs listening to Mamoru angst over not having his memories." She sighed in conclusion.

"Yep, it's just you and me tonight, babe," Makoto teased, lifting a corner of the throw blanket in an invitation for Usagi to join her on the sofa.

"Sounds good to me," Usagi said, sitting next to her friend and tucking the frayed end of the well-worn blanket around her legs. "He 'cares' about me," she offered, knowing that Makoto wanted to know what had been said.

"It's not what you wanted, I know, Usagi-chan, but it's still better than nothing," Makoto pointed out diplomatically. Usagi nodded.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I'm supposed to kick you all out on Friday night so he can make me dinner and we can talk – he needs some time to figure things out, first."

"I'll take care of clearing the apartment," Makoto volunteered. "I'll have Motoki-kun have another party. And I'll just stay over, so you guys can have some privacy."

"Thanks," she whispered, allowing her head to rest on the much-taller girl's shoulder. "You're a good friend, Mako-chan."

A scream pierced the night and they stared at one another in shock for a moment before jumping up and shouting.

"Moon Prism Power Make-Up!"

"Jupiter Power Make-Up!"

* * *

"Yes, Princess – go," a sultry feminine voice murmured in the emptiness of the Senshi's living room. "Go to meet your destiny. Soon I will be free and I will join you. There is no one to stop me this time."

Luna woke up suddenly and her eyes darted uncomfortably around the room, but she didn't see anything. She was certain that she hadn't been alone in the room just a moment before. There was an unnatural chill in the air, and a lingering feeling of evil.

And where were the girls? She knew that at least Makoto had been in the room not too long before. As she jumped up, prepared to search out a human presence, she realized that Usagi and Makoto were fighting something out in the alley behind the building and she leapt towards the balcony in time to see the two girls reappear, blood-spattered uniforms torn and shredded, blowing in the breeze.

"Luna!" Sailor Moon shouted, leaning down to pick up the black cat and cuddle it in her arms. "We're fine," she hastily assured her guardian. Luna wasn't sure she believed that.

"It's true, Luna," Sailor Jupiter confirmed. "We were too late. The monster was finished with the girl before we got there, and though we beat him, he was pretty strong."

"Is that your blood?" Luna demanded and both girls shook their heads.

"No," Sailor Moon whispered dejectedly. "It's the victim's." Sailor Jupiter nodded sadly.

"Whoever this Dark Queen is, she's much more vicious than Beryl ever was. Beryl just wanted to take over the world. Yeah, she drained people's energy, but they never killed anyone besides us." Jupiter looked disgusted at the new enemy's tactics.

A loud banging on the door brought everyone's attention back to the apartment and they returned to the living room. Luna watched as Usagi carefully walked, favoring her right leg, towards the door, peering through the peephole in her fuku.

* * *

Usagi sighed in relief as she saw familiar black hair and blue eyes on the other side of the door. She stepped back and opened it, allowing Mamoru to come inside.

"Usa!" he shouted, and Usagi looked down again, realizing how badly it must look.

"I'm fine," she murmured soothingly. "It's not my blood." She opened the door wider to let him in and pushed it closed behind him, leaning on her left leg a little heavier than usual. She was a little worried about her right ankle. She'd twisted it pretty badly out there tonight and it still hadn't stopped throbbing. She was afraid to see what it looked like under the red vinyl boot.

As she made her way back towards the living room, she could feel Mamoru's eyes boring into her back, but she refused to look at him. Why had he shown up? She'd thought they were not going to see one another until Friday.

"Let me see that ankle, Usa," he ordered, pushing her down into the chair and reaching down to tug her boot off. "You've got to be careful!" he chastised, his eyes going wide as he stared at the blue and purple mess in front of him. Usagi sighed. She was afraid of this – the ankle was most certainly sprained. Even with her natural healing abilities, it would be several days until she could walk comfortably.

"I'm fine," she muttered between clenched teeth. "It's just sprained."

"Of course it is," he growled, looking up at her and she was taken aback by the concern in his eyes. "I _felt_ it happen, Usa," he added softly, staring down at her ankle sadly. "I knew the second it happened that you were fighting and I had this sudden urge to help you and I don't know how to. The only thing I could do was come up here as soon as I could and wait for you to come home so I could bandage you up."

"Don't," she whispered around the lump in her throat. "I won't do it – not today."

"Why not?" he demanded harshly, glaring up at her.

"You're not thinking clearly, Mamoru," she explained, wincing as he began to wrap her ankle in a bandage he pulled from his pocket. "You wanted time to decide what you felt before you decided if you wanted this. Me being injured shouldn't change that."

"It does," he admitted.

"Well, it shouldn't," she said, perhaps a trifle too harshly, for he looked at her and she could see that she'd hurt him. "I'm sorry, Mamoru," she offered quietly, "But I'm not doing anything until Friday. I want you to really think about this."

He finished wrapping her ankle in silence, and when he was finished, he stood and left the room without another word. The events of the day finally caught up with her, and it was Makoto's arms that wrapped around her comfortingly as the tears poured down her cheeks while she silently acknowledged that it just wasn't enough. Having her friends by her side helped, but what she really wanted, what she'd always wanted, was him.

* * *

**Author's end note:** I know it seems like I've seriously dispensed with the funny on this story. And truth be told, the level of hilarity will probably not reach the humor of the first few chapters. The story is now in darker waters, of course. Before anyone knew what was really going on, they didn't have the same cares that they will now, and it does make for a more serious tone. However, don't despair (and please don't stop reading!). There's still that vastly amusing scene between Rei and Jadeite left to come, and the incredibly touching reunion of Naru and Nephrite. Not to mention what Ami-chan does to poor Zoisite. And of course, there is still the confrontation between Minako and Kunzite.

I would also like to take a brief moment to thank each and every one of you for reading this story. It currently sits as just over 32k words, one of my longest chaptered stories to date, and definitely the longest Sailor Moon fiction that I have. I want to also say an extra-special thank you to everyone who has dropped a review on this story. You are all the reason I've kept going, writing faster than I think I've ever done – even for NaNo. I would ask that each of those who have left a review check their inboxes frequently, for I have a special surprise coming up in the near future for you. You've truly made this a wonderful journey and I thank you for seeing it this far.

_Silver and Steel_ is now just about half-finished. In chapter 7, we're going to discover the truth about the Dark Queen and her minions and a very large secret is going to be revealed, Mamoru is going to confess the truth about his 'relationship' with Usagi to Motoki, and Makoto will be forced to realize something rather upsetting about herself. Chapter 7 is going to be a bit of a whopper, and it is currently titled The Dark Queen. I hope you all stick around, because it might take me a week or two to get this one out. I want it to be perfect.

Thank you again. Love, luck and lollipops - Nephthys


	7. The Dark Queen

Silver and Steel Chapter 7 – The Dark Queen

**Author's opening notes:** First, an apology. I was listening to my mp3 player and thinking that I needed to back-up my files about a week after the last update. I got to the office, plugged it in and stared in horror. The stupid thing had lost its formatting. That also meant that it had lost all the files I had on it. Including the only copy of this chapter – all 3000 words of it. I wasn't happy with what I'd written, anyway, but losing it all was not what I had in mind for rewriting it. Luckily, I was able to rewrite it, and to do so quickly and more coherently (you should have seen the horror that was the scene between Motoki and Mamoru *shudder*). Anyway, I had some things happening in my life that slowed the process even further. Thankfully, I had copies of nearly everything else.

I promise to never inflict such a long opening note on you all again, but there is one final thing I want to say before I release you to read The Dark Queen. After finishing chapter 6, I simply knew that I would be writing Silver and Steel's version of the Silver Millennium. A special teaser of this was sent to those reviewers who responded to my request for a DocX connection. If you have not yet responded and you would like to read it, please feel free to go to the DocX tab on your account settings and set up a connection to me. I will send the file to you quite happily. The general consensus seems to be that instead of making it a short interlude between chapters I should make it a separate prelude. Thank you all for your input.

Now, without any further ado, I present _Chapter 7 – The Dark Queen._

It was hard to accept that she wouldn't give him the memories that would enable him to help her. Did she even care for him at all? He knew he was being irrational, but he didn't care. He knew that she was giving him the time to think it over because she cared for him. In fact, it was kind of scary how much she cared for him.

Yes, there was a connection between them; he'd felt it the day they met. And promptly pushed it aside. Over the intervening years he had gone on a few half-hearted dates with Rei; he'd even had one encounter with Ami that was better left unspoken. And then there was Ann. For some reason, she'd latched onto him while Usagi had dated her twin brother. He shuddered at the memory. Whatever anyone said, it was possible for a woman to rape a man; especially if she drugged his drink. He pushed the memories aside; there was no point in hashing them over once again. Right now, he needed to focus on the memories he didn't have, as if simply knowing they were there, locked inside his psyche, would be enough to set them free.

He closed his eyes and brought up the images of the past few days, particularly those of Usagi in her Senshi fuku. Ignoring the sudden rise of certain body parts at the sight of the red boots he was slowly developing a fetish for, he focused instead on the other, less physical feelings the sight aroused. There it was – that urge to protect her, to pull a rose out of thin air and fight alongside her. The only problem was he didn't know how to do it.

"Mamoru-kun?" He opened his eyes to find Motoki in the doorway, looking down at him curiously. He motioned the other man into the room, hoping that perhaps if he explained what he was thinking, Motoki, with his superior understanding of emotions, would be able to help him sort through this deluge of them before he drowned in it.

* * *

Makoto looked down into the sleeping face of her princess and sighed. So much heartache, so much responsibility in one so young. Rationally, Makoto knew that she and the others were the same age as Usagi, but she couldn't remember the last time she'd been young, and she rather suspected the others felt the same. As she thought about it, she realized she could probably equate the loss of her youth with the loss of her family, and she'd wager that Rei could, too. Minako's youth was stolen by the responsibilities of Sailor V, long before the others had awakened, and Ami was probably born fully responsible, book in hand. Of them all, Usagi was the only one that had been lucky enough to have anything resembling a normal childhood, only to have it snatched away by the fate of the world.

Makoto didn't mind the fate of the world. It was a relief to have something to protect after her family had been cruelly taken from her. She sometimes wondered if the Ginzuishou hadn't arranged for the death of her family to ensure that she would have no greater tie than her loyalty to Usagi. She didn't voice the concern, of course – if Usagi even suspected that she viewed the crystal with something resembling bitterness she would be heartbroken. And regardless of what her duty to the Earth was, in her mind, the duty she owed Usagi was far greater. Protect Usagi, and she protected the world. It was that simple. It was reassuring, really. All she had to do was what every fibre of her being demanded she do anyway. Usagi, on the other hand…

Makoto sighed. It was too much to ask a girl like Usagi, so fun-loving and happy, to shoulder the burdens of the world. She shouldn't be responsible for so much. Especially since Mamoru didn't remember that it was his world that she was protecting – that he was supposed to help her. It was obvious that he wanted to, but equally so that he didn't have a clue how to.

As for her, Makoto knew that soon she would have to confront Nephrite over his betrayal. That he had given up his pathetic existence as Beryl's minion to save Naru spoke very highly of him and his morals, but she still had a few things she wanted to say. She pitied Jadeite, especially. The things Rei had spoken of doing to torture him had been something no woman should ever do to a man, even one who'd betrayed her – especially a man who'd betrayed her in a past life and couldn't currently remember doing it. At least give him a chance to remember, she scoffed.

Makoto picked the slender body of her princess up and tucked her into the pink sheets. "Sleep well, Usagi-chan."

* * *

Motoki could think of half a dozen things he wanted to say to Mamoru, perhaps more, and at least half of them would not be exceptionally flattering. "Do you mean to tell me that all of this – stuff – between you and Usagi-chan started out as a practical joke?" Though the words were soft, there was no denying the underlying fury in them, and Mamoru wisely took a step back.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in reply, his eyes downcast. "I thought we'd have a little fun at the girls' expense and confess the truth in a week or so," he continued. "I didn't count on all of this."

"I'm hoping that by 'all of this' you're referring to more than the revelation that she's Sailor Moon and you're Tuxedo Kamen, Mamoru-san," Motoki said angrily. "I'm hoping that you're saying that 'all of this' includes you falling in love with Usagi-chan – or rather finally realizing that you've been in love with her since she was fourteen."

"In love?" Mamoru's eyes were wider than he'd ever seen them as he repeated the words.

"Mamoru-san, even before the accident, she was constantly on your mind. If she was in the same room, you couldn't take your eyes off her and you did everything you could to monopolize her attention. If she wasn't there, you'd stare at the door, waiting for her to come in. Hell, Rei even got you to sign that agreement because she found a rather interesting sketch you drew of Usagi in a skimpy version of her school uniform with a heart around it," he muttered in disgust. "You've been in love with Usagi-chan for the past four years."

"I don't know how to love anyone, Motoki-kun," the other man breathed dejectedly. "Least of all someone like Usa."

"Do you hear yourself?" he all but shouted. "You've already given her nicknames and you rushed to her the moment you sensed she was in danger. Whether you know how or not, Mamoru, you do love her."

"Even if I do, how do I know that it isn't just that past she told me about?" he demanded, clearly angry.

"So what if it is?" Motoki growled in frustration. "If a past life you loved a past life her it must have been because you were both the same people then that you are now. It's always been obvious you were attracted to her and you, cold bastard that you are, put up a million walls and blocked her out with your trademark cruelty. Now this little ruse of yours has finally given you a chance and you're doing again!"

"What do you mean by that?" Mamoru asked, his voice much softer.

"You're blocking her out again. You've got this convenient excuse that you don't really care for her, that it is all this past life bullshit, and you're going to jump on the chance to keep hiding from the fact that regardless of the reason, you're in love with the girl," Motoki finished, a smirk on his face as he watched Mamoru digest it. He knew that his friend, dense as he was, was finally getting the picture, so he decided to let the information sink in for a bit.

"I'm going to check on Mako-chan," he said, walking towards the door. "Just – take some time to think about it, alright?" Mamoru nodded absently as he left the room.

* * *

Minako ducked further into her menu, looking at her companion in distress. "How did they find us?" she whispered but Ami just shrugged as the two men walked towards them.

Kunzite sat across from her and pulled the menu out of her hands, and she felt the breath leave her lungs. She forgot how to breathe. She knew her mouth was hanging inelegantly open and she didn't remember how to close it. Speaking was entirely out of the question.

Two nights ago, she'd lain in his arms, feeling more whole than she had since she woke up from a three week coma with no memory of the time leading up to it, and now that she did, she found herself completely unable to function like a normal human being around him. Her mind was completely blank. Desperately, she tried to think of something to say; anything would do, be it an accusation for his past betrayals or a declaration of undying devotion, but her brain refused to cooperate. She couldn't even turn her head to look beseechingly at Ami for help. She was afraid that Ami wouldn't have any to offer either. Her head was buzzing, if he was speaking, she certainly couldn't hear him. And she couldn't tear her eyes from him to try to read his lips, either. Desperation had set in and she was so afraid that she would never figure this out.

"Minako." She blinked. His voice had penetrated the haze of her mind and broken the spell. Suddenly she could think again, breathe again, and her anger, something she had been terrified would always desert her in his presence, returned full force.

"You!" she spat, disgust filling her voice. A soft voice in the back of her mind that sounded suspiciously like Usagi reminded her that he wasn't the same person that had betrayed her on the Moon, that he had no recollection of having done so. She felt Ami and Zoisite's eyes on her, startled by her vehement outburst when she'd been so silent until that moment, but she didn't care. She impatiently brushed aside the warnings in her mind and glared at the man across from her.

Instead of shrinking from the heat in her gaze, his eyes narrowed and he met her eyes unflinchingly, returning the spite she felt emanating from herself and causing her to pause.

"You're judging me for actions that happened centuries ago, Minako, things that were done by a different Kunzite who, from your own advisor's account, was under the dark influence of an evil witch," he said softly. It was the same tone she remembered; the angrier he was, the softer his voice would get. He'd never needed to raise his voice to get his point across, and that, at least, had not changed. She was ashamed, suddenly, embarrassed by her own emotions.

"You can hardly blame her for her feelings, Kunzite-san," Ami piped in softly, drawing the intensity of those beautiful eyes away from her. "She has just had a great many things dumped into her lap, and one of those is the fact that a man bearing your name and likeness – and personality – literally stabbed her through the back. It will take time to prove to her that despite the fact that your past life betrayed her, you will not do so now."

For a moment, Minako stared at Ami in shock, surprised to see a blush cross the other girl's cheeks until she realized that it was not just Kunzite she was speaking to. Her words could easily be about herself and Zoisite, and it was clear that the other man realized that, too.

"Forgive me," Kunzite said softly, too softly to have completely let go of his anger. "You are right, as always Mizuno-san. My own distress at learning the actions of my past have made me blind to the influence it would have on Di." He stood and gave Zoisite a pointed look until the blonde man followed suit. "At your service, ladies." He bowed deeply as he said it, and then spun on his heel and walked away – out the door. Minako was overwhelmed with a sense of longing at the affectionate nickname he'd bestowed upon her in the past, too much so to immediately recognize the implications in it. As Zoisite followed suit, Ami looked at her, her face devoid of all color save her normally bright blue eyes, which seemed washed to almost whiteness themselves.

"He remembers," she whispered horrified, and Minako stared at her for a moment in stupefaction.

"Who? What?" she stumbled over the questions, resisting an urge to shake Ami in her frustration.

"Kunzite," Ami breathed. "Don't you see? He called you Di – he used to call you Aphrodite, after the goddess – but he wouldn't know that unless he remembered."

By the time Ami finished, Minako knew that her face was as white as her friend's. IHe had his memories, had perhaps had them the entire time!/I The thought screamed through her head, repeating itself, circling around and around until she wanted to shout it aloud to the room. She was shaking, the tremors reaching to her very toes as she realized the full implications of his knowledge. He had known who she was from the first, had known what he had done in the past when he took her to his bed in the present – had known, before Luna had begun speaking that she and the others were Senshi and that he had betrayed them, that he had killed her. Ami put a comforting arm around her and drew her into her shoulder.

"Is it just him, or do they all know?" she asked through teeth that threatened to chatter.

"I don't know," Ami answered softly. "But he is a very deliberate person, Minako-chan, and he wouldn't have used that name if he didn't want you to know. We need to talk to the others right away." Minako nodded and mulled over Ami's words as the two dropped a few bills on the table and left the café.

* * *

It was time, she realized triumphantly as the moon reached its zenith in the sky. She would finally be free of the cage that had held her for so long, able to finally seek revenge against those who'd kept her from her rightful place at the Princess' side. She raised her weapon, a beautiful silver tipped spear with powers she had only dreamt of using these many millennia.

"Silence Glaive Surprise!" she shouted, her long dark hair billowing around behind her as she touched the weapon to the ground at her feet. She watched in delight as the world below her fell into darkness.

* * *

**Author's End Note:** HA! Had you fooled, didn't I?

To be quite honest, I had myself fooled, as well. Up until I finished this chapter, I was absolutely positive that the Dark Queen would be Nehelenia (perhaps my favorite villain to write about), but at the 11th hour, it came to me that it should definitely be someone else. When I write Silver and Steel: Silver Millennium, I'll explain how Saturn came to be what she is now, but for the time being, let's just see how it plays out, shall we?

Saturn's attack has put something of a hold on the pressing issue of Kunzite having his memories the entire time, and it puts a real sense of urgency to Mamoru finally regaining his, as well. It's also done several other things that are really important later, but for now, let me just offer another apology for the horrid delay in getting this out to you and hope that you'll all forgive me if I can put the next one out more quickly.

Love, Luck and Lollipops,

Nephthys


	8. Darkness Falls

Chapter 8 – Darkness Falls

Mamoru stared out his window, the absolute blackness an unwelcome surprise. In the brief moment before the lights in his room had extinguished entirely, he'd been certain that a brilliant flash had given the room an unnatural light for a millisecond before the entirety of his world had gone dark. Something was amiss – a very big something, and he felt useless against it, a feeling that he was beginning to loathe. The now-familiar tug was urging him to action, an action he knew he was incapable of.

The voice at his back came as a surprise; he'd entered the room so silently Mamoru had been unaware of his presence until the words drifted through the darkness.

"Master, my duty has always been to remain at your side." Mamoru closed his eyes, wishing he could do the same to his ears. It felt wrong to have this friend, one he'd looked on as an equal for all these years, to consider him his master, yet he sensed there was something more Kunzite wanted to say, so he waited silently, allowing the other man to speak.

"I am torn," he said. "If I were to do as my heart bids me, it would leave you alone and defenseless in a situation where being such could be deadly to you."

"You want to go to Minako." It wasn't a question, and Mamoru didn't bother to try to disguise it as such. "We would only be in the way, Kunzite-san."

"Forgive me, Endymion-sama, but you would be in the way. I would not. I have no right to ask your forgiveness in this, but I must confess. We, your loyal Shitennou, have never been unaware of our past, nor our present duty," Kunzite said quietly.

"What are you saying?" Mamoru demanded, finally turning from the window to face the direction from which the voice came. "You knew about this – about all of it – the whole time?"

"We did." Another voice joined Kunzite's. "It was our duty to spare you the knowledge until such time as it became necessary." As he spoke, Mamoru recognized Nephrite's voice and nodded, more out of encouragement than understanding, though he was aware the gesture would be as invisible to them as their faces were to him.

"The time has come, Master, for you to recollect who you were, both in this life and that which came before," a third chimed in, and Mamoru immediately recognized Zoisite, more from the structure of the words than the actual sound.

"We had hoped to never wake you, Master. It was enough for us to stand by your side, equals and friends, but you once made us swear a vow to you, that should you ever, in any way, be unable to protect Princess Serenity, we would stand before her in your stead – our lives would be her shields. We failed you then. We will not fail you now." This from Jadeite, and Mamoru had to wonder how and when they had all entered his room.

"By any means possible, you said then," Kunzite continued. "We were to protect the Princess by any means at our disposal. We four stand with our swords at the ready to do this, but it is not our swords she wants to defend her. Our lives are not the shields she requires. As we are, she will not have us – not until you stand before her, her Prince, and we, your guards, beside you."

"We believe we may have a way to awaken your memories," he continued, "but Tsukino-san is right in this, if nothing else: it must be your choice. We will defend her to the last should you choose no. Should you choose yes, we will be your loyal Shitennou once more, as we were meant to be, and you may choose your own destiny. Princess Serenity was your love in the past, but she does not have to be in this life. The choice is, and has always been, yours. In all things."

Mamoru stood in silence, weighing the truth of Kunzite's words. It was logical, and rational. They spoke of loyalty and honor and things which this world seemed to have forgotten, and he respected his friends more than he could ever recall having done.

"I'm ready to remember," he whispered.

A faint silver-gray light began to emanate, illuminating Kunzite's face, though Mamoru could not see what he held in his hands. Pale spring green lit the harsh shadows of Zoisite's form, followed by a shimmer of red from Nephrite and a whisper of blue from Jadeite. The lights grew brighter, and Mamoru's eyes took in the gray uniforms his friends were wearing, dark piping trimming each high collar and running down the shoulders and across the chest where the jacket buttoned. The pants had the same piping down each leg, in the same dark shade of the light each man seemed to be glowing with. The room illuminated, and Mamoru could see that he was no longer in his apartment, though the vast stone chamber with its roughly-hewn wooden table seemed just as familiar.

An instant later, he was alone, surrounded by roses in a glowing temple of shining white marble. The temple seemed to light the surrounding area with an incandescent light and he could see that whatever darkness had fallen upon the Earth above had not yet reached this sacred place. He took an experimental step towards the temple and stared in amazement as the scene changed again.

He was in a dome, surrounded by beautiful flowers of kinds he could not recall having ever seen upon the Earth and he knew, instinctively, that these flowers had not, nor would ever grow in the soil of his home. A silver-clear, sweet voice was calling to him, and in the distance, upon a crystalline marble balcony, a faint figure seemed to be beconing him closer with each cry of his name.

"Endymion!" He took another step and the vision shimmered again.

He was once more in the stone chamber with the wooden table, only he appeared to be mid-pace as his Shitennou sat around and stared at him expectantly. He could see their anger, their disappointment: he had done it again, he knew. Though he had been warned his whole life against contact with any creature from the Moon, once more his men had found him in the rose arbor with the Princess herself. Did he not think, they were asking him, that the possibility of a war with the overbearing dictators from the moon enough warning to stay away from the witch that had clearly ensnared him, but he knew they were wrong. The threat was not from the moon, but from something else entirely, and Serenity had never shown any powers that indicated she was as dangerous as they claimed. He continued his pacing and the scene changed once more.

He was back in the dome, though he knew now that it was the moon, and he had come with something important to tell Serenity – that his most trusted men had turned against him and there was an evil force headed for her home even as he waited for her to appear. She must not be hurt. She must listen to him, hear him out so she can tell her mother about the threat and warn their kingdom in time to save it. As her slender form appeared on the balcony, he leapt towards her, and once again found himself somewhere different.

It was still the moon, though how much difference an hour had made. Beryl's forces, led by his own men, had decimated what was once a beautiful land, crumbling the fantastic stone palace to nothing more than rubble. Serenity's guards lay fallen around her, dead by the hands of those who had once claimed to love them, and his beautiful Serenity leaned over him, her face dirty for the first time in his memory and tears streaming down her cheeks. He realized he was dying and he remembered what Usagi said had happened afterwards. There was nothing he wanted to see less than her suicide, so he closed his eyes to brace himself, and when they opened, he found himself in his bed in his first apartment, sweating and panting.

The princess had called to him again in his dreams and he couldn't remember who she was. He wanted to shout that it was Usagi, but he couldn't hear himself – he was there, inside his own body and somehow separate from it as well, and he suddenly realized that he was reliving the memories that had been stored away for so many years. As his past self swung his legs off the bed towards the floor, Mamoru felt himself transported again, and when he looked down, he realized exactly where he was.

He was Tuxedo Kamen, and the girl at his side was Sailor Moon. He was still reeling from the shock of discovering that the beautiful soldier who'd fought so valiantly alongside him all these many months was the same irritating girl that had gotten under his skin in a way he hadn't imagined possible, and as he spun to save her, he realized that this is what he had always done and would always do: his life was her shield.

The scene changed and he was wearing armor, holding Sailor Moon by her neck in the dank misery of a cave, torturing this young girl he loved, in any guise, in any lifetime, and he couldn't stop himself. Tears threatened to choke him even as he was choking her, but the horrible vision ended when his callous other self tossed the girl from him and he found himself back in the rose garden, standing next to the peaceful tranquility of the temple, terrified to move an inch lest he be thrown into the past again.

"You're safe now," a voice called, and Mamoru turned to face a stranger with oddly glowing golden eyes and silver hair. Mamoru felt the significance of this should not be unfamiliar to him, but he could not recall having seen the young man before. "It's alright if you don't remember me, Endymion-sama. You were never supposed to have. I am Helios, priest of Elysion, and I watch over the dreams of mortals while I wait for the one with the power to retrieve the Kinzuishou. I believe that man is you, Endymion-sama, great King of Earth, and so I pass it into your ownership, as my final duty here."

"Where is here? What's going on? Kinzuishou?" Mamoru felt he had a million questions.

"This is Elysion," Heiios said in his softly soothing voice, "land of human dreams. The Kinzuishou is your birthright, a crystal of incredible power that has laid in wait for one of the great god Endymion's line to wield it. As for what is going on, I would beg you allow me a few moments to explain before you speak again." Mamoru nodded.

"Good. You are here because you are the Guardian of Earth, and Elysion is the heart of the Earth – your heart as well. It is here that you will always come when you require assistance, and it is here that your memories will always reside, even if your physical form no longer has access to them. It is your refuge and your solace."

"So, this is where my memories went?" Mamoru asked with rising anger. "You're the one that took them?"

"No, Endymion-sama. I did not take your memories from you. There is much we can discuss, but at a later time. As we tarry here, your Shitennou grow weak from sustaining your connection to this place, and your Princess is rushing towards a battle that she may not return from. You have all the knowledge you need now, and it is time you returned to your home."

Mamoru closed his eyes in an effort to control his irritation and when he opened them again, he found himself staring into his bedroom, his four friends breathing heavily as though they had just run a great distance. As he looked closer to acertain that they were not hurt, he realized they were no longer glowing, but that the room had not grown dark.

And then he made an even more confusing discovery: his friends might not have been glowing, but Ihe/I was – shining with a brilliant golden light that seemed to inspire his friends into subservience, for each one dropped to one knee and pulled out a sword, crossing it over their hearts.

"Our lives for yours," they said in unison.

center~~~/center

Running. Running towards a battle. This she knew; it was all she knew. There was a great horrible force at work on this planet and she could not, would not allow it to take over the beautiful land she had grown to love. Her friends, her guardians, ran beside her and though she knew it was foolish, she wished for Mamoru's presence as well. She cursed her own stubbornness that had rendered this impossible; had she simply revived him as she was asked he would be by her side.

ISo he could fall as well?/I a dark voice asked from the back of her mind. She ignored it. They would not fall. They had defeated Metalia and the Dark Kingdom and they would defeat this Dark Queen. They would. As she rounded the final corner, where darkness had fallen so thick as to be nearly inpenetrable, she stopped short, staring in horror at the vision before her.

A woman – no, not yet a woman, she realized – with long, flowing pitch hair to her ankles stood fighting two Senshi that Usagi had never seen before. Whoever they were, they were holding their own against the young woman…Usagi belatedly realized that she, too, was wearing the fuku of a Senshi, with purple and black accents, and a long staff with a sharp blade at the end of it. Who was ally and who was enemy, she wondered, and how was she supposed to know whom to help?

The other Senshi were frozen next to her, watching as a Senshi with short blonde hair shouted her attack and then begged the black-haired Senshi to stop what she was doing. The third Senshi, with aqua hair and eyes covered the black-haired Senshi in a tidal wave before speaking, her tone pleading.

"Please, Sailor Saturn, stop this!" _Saturn_, Usagi thought, suddenly flooded with memories. She must be contained at all times, that was the duty of Neptune and Uranus, and they had clearly failed. Saturn was free, and she was prepared to destroy the world for the darkness in it.

"Sailor Saturn, no!" Usagi cried out, drawing the attention of the beautiful woman-child before her.

"Princess?" Saturn asked, her tone reverent. Immediately she bowed before Usagi, the tip of her glaive resting mere centimeters from the ground. Three sharply indrawn breaths made her realize her mistake and she pulled the glaive and herself to an upright position. "These two," she spat, pointing it instead at Neptune and Uranus, "would have kept me from your side forever, Princess, but I escaped and I am here to serve you."

Usagi was confused. Sailor Saturn had always known that her duty was to remain on the outskirts of the system, protecting the Earth and the Moon from external threats, only coming to the moon in times of great need. What was wrong with the black-haired senshi before her?

"Sailor Moon, there is no time to explain!" Sailor Uranus shouted irritably! "We have to drive her off. Explanations can come later!"

Usagi nodded, her eyes meeting those of her fellow Senshi as they drew around her in a small circle, as each leant a small amount of power to her, she powered her tiara with it and hurled it towards the demonic Senshi across the small alleyway, wincing in pain, physical pain, as the young woman shrieked and vanished without a trace.

"She'll be back," Sailor Mars said darkly. The others nodded.

"Until then, let's head back home. I can start analyzing the data from there and you guys," Mercury said, fixing Neptune and Uranus with a deadly glare, "can start explaining just what is going on here." Usagi smiled as the surprise in the two older Senshis' eyes. A clatter of running footsteps halted them all, and Usagi was pleased and annoyed to see that her Senshi had spun to form a wall between her and the oncoming attack.

Five figures stood at the other end of the alleyway, an faint golden glow emanating from them all, put particularly from their central figure. In the gloom of the unnatural darkness that had swept over the land at Sailor Saturn's arrival, it was impossible to tell who they were, but Usagi felt a small tug, almost impercitble, in the general area of her heart.

"Endymion?" she said, her words barely audible over the wind. The Senshi Wall in front of her seemed to dissolve and she found herself walking, with confident, measured footsteps, towards the central figure, who had taken four large steps away from his companions. She was close enough now to see his face, and she couldn't stop the smile that broke out over her own. Though she shuddered at the sight of the black armor he wore, the red rose with the steel tip in one hand was enough to let her know, for sure, that this was indeed her Endymion, and not some false copy of him. When she was three paces from him, she stopped, suddenly uncertain. If his memories had returned, he might now reject her present form in favor of the Princess she had once been.

They stared at one another over the short distance between them before he reached out a hand and grasped hers within it. "By your side, always," he whispered. A tear slipped down her cheek.


	9. Sailor Saturn

Usagi stared at the others gathered in her apartment, looking over each face individually. There was anxiety in the face of each of her Senshi, and cool, assessing awareness on the faces of Endymion's guards. The two new Senshi looked wary, weary and proud. It was there in the stiff set of their shoulders, in the way their eyes darted from the others and the back to each other, but never lingering on her for more than a moment.

"Explain," she said curtly. No one had dropped their transformations.

"It's fairly obvious," Sailor Uranus said. "Saturn has lost her mind. She wants to destroy the world."

"Saturn never does that without a reason," Luna said, cutting across the conversation. The tension in the room ratcheted up.

"This time there is no reason," Sailor Neptune said shortly. "The world has grown corrupt, but that is human nature and human affairs – that is not the concern of the Senshi. Saturn has gone too far."

Usagi searched her mind for what little she could recall about her mother (no, she wouldn't think of Selenity as her mother, she decided – that was Serenity's mother) – Selenity's most powerful guardians. Saturn was by far the most dangerous of them all – except perhaps the mysterious Pluto. These two women before her seemed to have only two jobs in the all the Galaxy – protect them from any outside threats and keep Saturn in check. And they'd clearly failed at the latter.

"How did she break free?" Usagi asked.

"We didn't realize how powerful she'd grown," Uranus whispered, as though the words were a painful admission.

"Of late, my mirror has not worked properly. Whenever I try to see into it, it shows me nothing but darkness – darkness everywhere. By the time we realized that there could be a connection between that and Saturn, she'd already broken loose of her confinement and headed to Earth. We've been tracking her, engaging her in battle."

"What about the demons she has fighting for her?" Jupiter asked, suddenly remembering the monster she and Usagi had fought before.

Neptune and Uranus looked at each other, speaking silently with their eyes, and then looked at Jupiter. "Saturn doesn't have the power to call forth demons to fight for her," Uranus said decisively. "Not even at her most powerful."

A soft purple glow filled the room, and a tall, bronzed woman stood before them. Usagi realized they were looking at the Guardian of Time.

"The Dark Queen has come," she said. "Sailor Saturn has broken free and is doing her duty, but she must be stopped. The Dark Queen will destroy the world with her lemures."

"Lemures?" Mars asked.

Nephrite stepped forward. "The stars know everything. With your permission, Sailor Moon, I would like to try to divine the identity of this Dark Queen." Usagi nodded.

"I will attend the Sacred Fires," Mars said, not to be outdone.

"I'll gather energy readings from the Mercury Computer." Usagi nodded again, watching as everyone began to spring into action with Pluto's words, though she didn't understand them at all.

"Look to the mirror," Pluto said.

"But the mirror's grown dark," Neptune said, clearly puzzled.

"And that is the answer. But I must leave," Pluto said. "Too much has already gone wrong, and I can't leave the Gates unattended for too long. If you have need of me, I will come." She vanished.

"The mirror's grown dark," repeated Neptune, "and that is the answer."

"But what does it mean?" muttered Uranus.

Usagi shuddered in the ensuing silence, looking at the mirror above Neptune's head, where she could swear she'd seen the image of a woman flash for a moment, just as Pluto had vanished. Something tickled in the back of her mind, but she couldn't remember. Her brain was on overload, and there was too much in it. She needed to process all of it and try to sort through the memories. Something told her it was important.

* * *

Soon enough, everyone had separated. Rei had dropped her transformation and headed to her grandfather's temple to read the Sacred Fire, trying to get a read on the mysterious woman they knew only as the Dark Queen. All the others were sure of was that she definitely wasn't Saturn, which made it all the more vital that they find Saturn and stop her before she destroyed the world. If they could stop this Dark Queen, then Sailor Saturn wouldn't have a duty to set the world into its cycle of rebirth any longer.

Usagi wanted to go out looking for Saturn, but the others argued that it was too dangerous. Though she understood their concerns, she remembered the words that the other girl had said – she was angry at being kept from her Princess. She would come to Usagi. She'd sent Makoto to the grocery store to stock up on food and other supplies. If the city stayed dark for several days, they'd need to eat. Ami and Minako had stayed in their Senshi forms and were out with the Mercury Computer gathering data to analyze on the central point of the darkness. Naru had gone with Nephrite to the roof to look at the stars to help him focus – something about being his muse. Usagi smiled a little at the idea that love could blossom at a time like this.

Luna and Artemis were in Central Command, thankfully, trying to puzzle out Pluto's cryptic messages while Uranus and Neptune went hunting down Saturn. Mamoru and the rest of his men were upstairs, plotting battle strategies or whatever warriors did. She smiled again.

It was what she wanted: to be alone.

"Princess." The voice came from the balcony. Usagi had stayed in her fuku, in case she needed to fight any of those horrible lemures while the others were away. The door was open. Something glimmered silver in the moonlight.

Usagi walked carefully towards the door.

On the balcony stood Sailor Saturn.

"Sailor Saturn," she said softly. "Won't you come in?"

"Are you going to attack me, too?" the other senshi asked. Usagi shook her head. "You know that I am going to destroy the world."

"But I'm going to save it," Usagi said simply. "Don't you believe in me?"

Sailor Saturn looked at her curiously. "No. No one can save it. I felt something earlier – almost like – but that's impossible. The Earth doesn't have a guardian Senshi." She seemed to be talking to herself.

"It has a Prince," Usagi said. "Would that make a difference?" She didn't want to fight this girl in front of her. She knew Saturn was far more powerful than she was; that if she lost, everyone she loved would die.

"If he harnessed the power of the planet, then it might," Saturn said slowly, the Glaive in her hands resting the slightest bit. "That is what I thought I felt earlier, but I was sure I was wrong."

"I'm going to save this world, Sailor Saturn, and he is going to help me," she said. "Do you believe me?"

"Believe her, Sailor Saturn," Mamoru said behind her. Usagi saw a small, golden crystal in his palm, glowing brightly.

The girl in front of her started crying. "I believe you," she whispered. She dropped her transformation instantly, and bowed. Usagi saw that the girl was wearing a gown of a shiny purple material with a small train on the back. When she turned to Mamoru, she looked at him in surprise. He was dressed in a lavender tuxedo with a white mask and no top hat. Looking down at herself, she saw a form-fitting white strapless gown with a crescent moon over the chest.

"This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder," she muttered. "Maybe you could put that away," she said more loudly, for his benefit.

He nodded, and with the crystal put away, she reverted to her normal clothes, as did he. The girl in front of them looked to be about their own age, dressed casually in simple jeans and a t-shirt, with jaw-length black hair.

"What's your name?" she asked the girl.

"Hotaru," she said.

* * *

A/N: Yes. A real update. I know. I'm as surprised as you are. I finally figured out how to write myself out of the corner I painted myself into all that time ago, and now that I have, I might actually freaking finish the fic! WHO KNEW!? I applaud myself. I have to, because you're all so disgusted with me you won't do it. I love every single person who took the time to read this. If you are still reading this story after all this time, I love you.


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